(SBS)

SBS hit drama “Legend of the Blue Sea” has been cleared of accusations of plagiarism.

In January, screenwriter Park Ki-hyun filed a lawsuit against Park Ji-eun, screenwriter of the SBS show, claiming the TV series violated copyright of an unmade movie scenario titled “The Legend of Hae Wol Sea: Pearly Shells.”

The Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office on Monday decided there was no charge to make, as “there is no possibility that Park Ji-eun or the production company could have seen the claimed movie scenario or have known about the existence of it before and there is no similarity between the movie scenario and the drama.”

Park Ji-eun said her story was an original work based on the mermaid legend of “Eou Yadam,” Korea’s first-known collection of documented historical tales from the Joseon era (1392-1910), and has nothing to do with the movie scenario.

“Cases of wrongfully suing a famous writer for personal gain are on the rise. As in this case, the writers sustain great damage just by being accused of plagiarism,” said Culture Depot, the TV show’s production company, adding that it would consider filing a countercharge against Park Ki-hyun for defamation and false accusation.

By Kim So-yeon (syk19372@heraldcorp.com)