aespa LEMONADE Plagiarism Allegation Centers on “Mutant” Concept Visuals

SM Entertainment is facing an online allegation tied to aespa’s upcoming album LEMONADE, after a May 9 KST online community post claimed that some concept visuals resembled ideas from a rejected job applicant’s proposal. The claim, now being discussed as an aespa concept plagiarism controversy, focuses on the album’s “Mutant” concept images and remains an allegation based on the poster’s comparison material. ¹

The dispute comes during the rollout for aespa’s second full-length album, LEMONADE, which is scheduled for release on May 29 at 1 p.m. KST. ² The allegation has not changed the publicly listed comeback schedule in the provided source material.

aespa LEMONADE Plagiarism Claim Focuses on “Mutant” Visuals

Koreaboo reported that the accusation originated from an online community post published on May 9 KST. The post alleged that SM Entertainment used visual ideas for aespa’s upcoming LEMONADE album that resembled a proposal submitted by an applicant who had applied for SM’s visual planning team and was rejected. ¹

The reported points of comparison included shadows, lighting, retouching style, and glowing-eye imagery in the “Mutant” concept photos. The source material identifies these as claims made by the poster rather than confirmed findings from SM Entertainment, aespa, or an independent legal process. ¹

Because the available material frames the matter as an online allegation, the status of the controversy is limited to what has been publicly reported from that post. The sources provided do not include an SM Entertainment response to the plagiarism claim, a statement from the alleged applicant, or any formal legal filing. That distinction is central to the current status: the issue has drawn attention, but the claim itself has not been established as fact in the supplied records.

The timing has heightened visibility because LEMONADE is already in its promotional cycle. The album’s concept materials, version names, teasers, and track information have been released in stages, giving online audiences more material to compare and discuss. However, the provided sources do not contain a full side-by-side archive of the applicant’s alleged proposal, nor do they confirm whether SM Entertainment had access to the exact materials referenced in the post.

Album Rollout Continues Ahead of May 29 Release

aespa announced LEMONADE on April 20 at midnight KST, with the full album set for May 29 at 1 p.m. KST. ² Korea JoongAng Daily also reported that the album will be aespa’s second full-length release and cited SM Entertainment as saying it contains 10 songs. ³

SM Entertainment described the album in an agency statement as featuring “10 songs spanning a range of genres.” ³ Edaily, in a report carried by Daum, also cited the agency as saying aespa would present a stronger storytelling album based on the group’s distinctive fictional-universe concept, signaling musical growth. ⁴

The comeback is positioned as aespa’s first full album in about two years since Armageddon, with preorders beginning on April 20 through online and offline retailers. ⁴ aespa’s Japan official website later listed preorder information for LEMONADE, with the Korean release date shown as May 29 and the planned Japan release date as May 30. The official Japanese notice also listed several physical versions, including MUTANT, WDA, LEMONADE, ACID, P.O.S, and CAN versions. ⁵

Those version names are relevant to the plagiarism discussion because the reported allegation specifically concerns the “Mutant” concept visuals. Still, the album version listing itself does not verify or disprove the claim; it only confirms that MUTANT is one of the official physical versions associated with the release. ⁵

Track List and Pre-Release Plans Add Context

Soompi’s May 10 update to its running coverage reported that the LEMONADE track list includes the pre-release single “WDA (Whole Different Animal),” featuring BIGBANG’s G-Dragon. The same update stated that “Switchblade” and “LEMONADE” include additional featured artists who had not yet been revealed in the provided source record. ²

Allkpop reported that aespa released the MV teaser for “WDA (Whole Different Animal)” on May 8 at midnight KST. The pre-release single is scheduled for May 11 at 6 p.m. KST, ahead of the full album release on May 29 at 1 p.m. KST. ⁶

The promotional timeline means the allegation emerged between the teaser rollout and the scheduled pre-release single. Based on the supplied sources, the release plan remains intact: “WDA (Whole Different Animal)” is due first, followed by the full LEMONADE album later in May. ⁶

For now, the aespa LEMONADE plagiarism issue remains a reported online allegation centered on visual similarities claimed by a community poster. The confirmed facts are narrower: LEMONADE is scheduled for May 29, the album contains 10 songs, “WDA (Whole Different Animal)” is planned as a pre-release single, and the disputed “Mutant” imagery is part of the broader album concept rollout.

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Cloi Lee

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