(Loen Entertainment)

Singer-songwriter IU officially apologized for controversial lyrics in “Zeze” and allegedly unauthorized sampling in “Twenty-Three,” Friday. The K-pop Herald has translated her message into English below.

Transcript of IU's letter to fans

Hello, this is IU. Although I was aware of the controversial opinions regarding the lyrics I wrote, it took me longer than I thought to gather the courage to come up with a statement. I apologize for the tardiness.

I am sincerely sorry to those who have been offended by my song.

My latest album “Chat-Shire” was created based on fictional characters of novels and how they reflected what I saw and felt as a 23-year-old (in Korean age). “Zeze” is one of them.

“My Sweet Orange Tree” is a treasured book to me, too. I swear I did not write the lyrics to sexualize a 5-year-old child. The Zeze in my song is a third-party fictional creation taken from the motif in the original novel. However, after listening to the opinions of those who have listened to the song, I came to realize that its contents could have given offense and even caused some to grieve. I am wholly responsible for my immature handling of things as a lyricist.

I didn’t mean the 5-year-old boy was sexy -- the “ambivalent character” of Zeze was. It was my careless mistake, however, as I used inappropriate, misleading words to portray the child’s personality traits.

Also, I would like to apologize for not checking sample sources used for the arrangement of the controversial track “Twenty Three.” We’re currently waiting for a response from Britney Spears and we'll get clearance for the sampling.

It was my excessive greed to be recognized as a legitimate artist and a producer. I once again would also like to extend my deepest apology for those who were hurt and disappointed by my thoughtless mistakes and remarks.

By Lim Jeong-yeo and Ko Ji-seon (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com, jiseonko@heraldcorp.com)

Related article: IU slammed for ‘inappropriately sexualizing’ 5-year-old