Netizens have recently accused the Philippine's Department of Health for plagiarizing K-pop group f(x)'s "Rum Pum Pum Pum" for the government agency's newest public service campaign which sparked controversy for its content.
Just recently, SM Entertainment, the South Korean record label and management agency of the K-pop group has stepped forward to address the issue. On December 8, a rep from the agency revealed that they are taking action against the health department for the act of plagiarism, Allkpop reports.
SM's rep told No Cut News and My Daily, "By no means have we permitted the use of the music, 'Rum Pum Pum Pum.' The original publisher of 'Rum Pum Pum Pum' confirmed that the music used by the Philippines' public service campaign in question is indeed plagiarism, so we already started taking action."
The suspicion of plagiarism started after netizens noticed that the background music used in a public advertisement of the Philippine's Department of Health sounded like the K-pop song, Enews reported. The infomercial tackled teenage pregnancy and has since received negative criticism for some words that are deemed by some as inappropriate for a public advertisement. Netizens expressed their concerns about the controversial ad pointing out the derogatory remarks about the Filipino youth.
The video of the ad uploaded on November 30, shows a cheerleading group dancing to an upbeat song which tells about why young people should abstain from premarital sex and finish their studies first.
According to Philippine entertainment news site, Philippine Entertainment Portal, the said ad was already removed from the health department's Facebook account in less than 24 hours after it was posted on November 30, but not before netizens reposted it on various social media sites.
Meanwhile, it was reported that Director Ivanhoe Escartin of the Health Department's National Center For Health Promotion stated they will release a statement on the issue today, December 10.
"Rum Pum Pum Pum" is one of the tracks from the five-member female group f(x)'s 2013 album "Pink Tape."
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