Director Shin Hee Won, who directed Girls’ Generation‘s “Forever 1” music video, has apologized for the controversy over set designs.
On August 14, director Shin Hee Won posted a lengthy message on her Instagram. She addressed the matter and apologized to everyone including SM and the group.
Earlier, Japanese netizens raised suspicions of design Plagiarism through SNS, saying that the 15th-anniversary emblem on Girls’ Generation’s 7th regular album “Forever 1” MV is similar to the Tokyo DisneyC emblem.
Read the full Statement of director Shin Hee Won’s Instagram post below.
Hello, I’m Shin Hee Won, the director of Girls’ Generation’s “Forever 1” music video.
First of all, I am sorry that some of the set design controversies in the music video of Girls’ Generation’s “Forever 1” have caused inconvenience to the members of Girls’ Generation and SM Entertainment.
I am ashamed and sorry to use the design without permission at a time when I was asked to do this music video and was involved in planning, directing, and even small props.
I searched for a number-related logo design for the parade set celebrating its 15th anniversary, found several references, and after finding a matching image, I used it into the set design without confirming the source.
Today, we confirmed that the design is a logo for Disney’s 15th anniversary in Japan, and we sincerely apologize for the fact that we designed the set without thorough investigation or confirmation.
To prevent this from happening again, we will investigate and check more thoroughly before production.
Lastly, we sincerely apologize to the members of Girls’ Generation, SM Entertainment, and fans who enjoyed watching the music video because of our fault.
Meanwhile, director Shin Hee Won directed music videos such as EXO’s “Lucky One,” “LOTTO,” SHINee’s “Good Evening,” Seventeen’s “Pretty” and Hyuna’s “Bebe.”
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