"Please Uncover the Alleged Plagiarism of My Design"... A Small Business Owner's Tearful Plea

Design Mockups for Nameplates and Awards Delivered During Mayor Kang’s Tenure
"Another Company Produced and Supplied Identical Designs," Grievance Filed
Complainant Claims "Intellectual Property Rights Infringed... Delivery Process Must Be Clarified"

Suspicions have arisen regarding the process and internal procedures involved after it was revealed that a nameplate and plaque design created by a certain company during Kang Gi-jung’s tenure as mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City was utilized by another company during the final production stage.

Recently, the complainant, Mr. Yang Mo, submitted a grievance petition to the Audit Committee, stating, "The nameplate and plaque design mockups that were previously reported to the mayor’s private office appear to have been used later in the external production process." He requested confirmation on the procedures through which the materials were delivered to an external company.

According to Mr. Yang and officials from Jeonnam-Gwangju Metropolitan Integrated Special City (Gwangju Government Complex) on July 21, the design production process took place between the end of 2022 and March 2023. At that time, the Human Resources Department, responsible for handling awards work, requested the mayor’s private office to select a company to create the nameplate and plaque designs. The mayor’s office reportedly asked Mr. Yang, who had a work-related connection, to prepare the design mockups.

Mr. Yang claims that he produced the nameplate and plaque designs after multiple consultations with the mayor's secretaries and even created physical samples, which he presented to the mayor. After the mayor decided on the final design direction, the related work was transferred to the Human Resources Department, which was in charge, and it is reported that the final production was undertaken by a different company.

A plaque of appreciation claimed by complainant Yang Mo for the alleged theft of his design (right side of the photo). Provided by Yang Mo

In this process, Mr. Yang maintains that "products similar to the designs I proposed were ultimately produced."

In fact, when comparing the appreciation plaque prototype Mr. Yang created (right in the photo) with the one produced by another company, most elements are nearly identical, such as the "laser engraving of text on a solid wood stand," the "font ('We will not forget your passionate hard work')," and the "ㄱ-shaped (giyeok-shaped) acrylic panel connected to the wooden stand."

Mr. Yang stated, "It remains unclear what internal approval and authorization procedures the design data I produced and reported went through before being provided to the external production company." He further said, "The circumstances under which the materials were provided and the details of the internal decision-making process need to be investigated."

He added, "While infringement of design rights is important, the core issue is whether the materials reported to the mayor were managed and used through proper procedures." He insisted, "An objective investigation is required into the overall management of internal materials within the administrative agency."

In response, Jeonnam-Gwangju Metropolitan Integrated Special City stated that verifying the facts must come first.

An Audit Committee official said, "It appears that the Human Resources Department at the time requested the mockups for the purpose of preparing a standard design for future use in nameplates and appreciation plaques." The official added, "As the parties have differing opinions regarding the alleged design plagiarism, it is necessary to comprehensively review the related materials and the work process."

Meanwhile, Mr. Yang stated that he plans to request information disclosure regarding contracts for design production, suppliers, internal approval documents, and work consultation records involving the mayor’s private office and the relevant department from the past four years, and to determine whether to pursue legal action after reviewing the obtained materials.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.