By Lee Han-soo, Park Si-soo

Is "Creative Korea" plagiarized? An opposition lawmaker raised questions of the originality of the newly unveiled national slogan "Creative Korea," arguing that there are "unmistakable similarities" between the slogan and the French government's "Creative France" used to promote French businesses.

The Korean government spent nearly 3.5 billion won ($3 million) on developing the new slogan that will be used in various national campaigns domestically and abroad. The government has strongly denied the plagiarism allegations.

Rep. Sohn Hye-won of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) pointed out similarities between the two, such as color and wording.

"It is incredibly shameful, and is a tragic case of Korea plagiarizing a slogan actually calling itself ‘creative,'" said Sohn, who is the MPK's head of public affairs. "

The lawmaker urged the government to stop using the brand at international events such as the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, denouncing President Park Geun-hye and Culture Minister Kim Jong-deok for approving the slogan.

Following the remarks, the culture ministry issued a statement disputing the accusation. The ministry said that it had already used the colors in many government slogans and campaigns, and that the word "creative" was not something to be used "exclusively" by a certain government.