“LE SSERAFIM?” aespa’s “Rich Man” Hit With Viral Accusations Of Plagiarism

aespa‘s most recent comeback teaser reveal is already stirring up controversy among K-Pop fans, even though the new material was released merely days ago.

| SM Entertainment

The SM Entertainment girl group finally announced their upcoming mini album, titled Rich Man — which has sparked no little controversy — will be released on September 5. Rich Man will be aespa’s sixth mini album and first since Whiplash, which was released in November 2024.

| SM Entertainment

Based on a short video, poster, and teaser schedule posted this past weekend on aespa’s social media profiles, the new comeback will have a heavy “rock” concept. The album’s name is written in Metallica-esque font, and the schedule shows the silhouette of each member rocking their own individual instrument. However, it’s not these details that have sparked controversy.

| HYBE

In fact, it’s the use of thunder effects in the short clip shared by aespa that has triggered a lot of plagiarism accusations and comparisons to LE SSERAFIM‘s “CRAZY” concept.

the standard pic.twitter.com/4kltYYarZN

— lex (@39ssaint) August 3, 2025

act like an angel and dress like CRAZY https://t.co/wa1Ysnv969

— 🦄chivan06_ (@0xygen37144906) August 3, 2025

act like an angel and dress like crazy https://t.co/UHCnpchHNQ

— ☆ (@LIVIEPRINT) August 3, 2025

The alleged similarities in color scheme between LE SSERAFIM’s individual and group teasers to aespa’s poster reveal for Rich Man have also drawn attention.

act like an angel and dress like crazy… https://t.co/MFjgEfFtUg pic.twitter.com/P62fEzUgEu

— ⛥ (@birthofthesiren) August 3, 2025

However, fans have also defended aespa saying the similarities are not enough to call it “plagiarism” and that the comeback teaser looks nothing like “Crazy” promotional materials.

This looks nothing like crazy mind u https://t.co/D2EI8vHiqp

— #1 baetwice defender ThankYouPURPLEKISS (@nijigasaking) August 4, 2025

LE SSERAFIM released “CRAZY” last year on August 30.

You can check out the teaser schedule for aespa’s upcoming release below. The SM Entertainment quarter are also preparing to kick off their third world tour later this month with a three-day concert in Seoul on August 29, 30, and 31.

aespa 에스파 'Rich Man' Schedule Poster

aespa 에스파 The 6th Mini Album 〖Rich Man〗
➫ 2025.09.05 1PM (KST) / 12AM EDT

🔗 https://t.co/8IVqBeE9vE #aespa #æspa #에스파 #RichMan #aespaRichMan pic.twitter.com/1IybaCYqga

— aespa (@aespa_official) August 4, 2025