“HYBE, stop stealing…”

On June 27, HYBE announced that they would be releasing a new virtual girl group called SYNDI8. From the moment the announcement was made, there has been a lot of controversies surrounding the group.

The group now faces plagiarism accusations from SEVENTEEN fans (CARATs) because of the name of member The8.

Since debuting, The8 has made his name a brand, with the “8” becoming a symbol known for the idol.

The new HYBE group is called SYNDI8, and of course, the “8” in the name stood out to CARATS.

Netizens quickly noticed that the Korean way of writing SYNDI8 is “신디에잇” and identical to the Korean spelling of The8, which is “디에잇,” so it is the same as The8’s name with the character “신” added.

CARATs were infuriated after seeing the connection because The8 has built up his brand from the name and the fact HYBE couldn’t think of names and took one from SEVENTEEN rather than thinking of something new.

Some fans even shared that the added character, if using Chinese characters, would mean that the group’s name literally means “New The8,” which fans find even more disrespectful.

An idol’s name is a huge part of them. Specifically for The8, his stage name has become synonymous with who he is as a person, and CARATs are angry that HYBE has done this to one of their own artists.