Kingdom's latest album cover caused controversy due to its resemblance to the Quran. Courtesy of GF Entertainment

The first production copies of K-Pop boy band Kingdom's latest album are being pulled off the shelves and discarded amid a controversy over the album cover's resemblance to the Quran.

Kingdom's agency GF Entertainment announced Monday that “There were concerns expressed that the Kingdom's seventh mini-album cover, which was due to go on presale on Sept. 21, bore a striking similarity to the Quran.”

The agency added, “In light of the circumstances, we have decided to recall, discard and redesign all 70,000 initial production copies of the album.”

The controversy began last Tuesday when Kingdom unveiled the cover for their seventh mini-album titled “History of Kingdom: Part VII. JAHAN” ahead of its release. Observers were quick to point out the immediate resemblance to the Quran and called for a change in the album's design, saying it was disrespectful towards Islam's holiest scripture and could anger Muslim K-pop fans.

“Kingdom aims to reinterpret different cultures worldwide through K-pop and stage performances in order to promote the value of diversity. In this particular case, however, our lack of awareness and oversight was at the root of the controversy," the agency said in its apology.

"We sincerely apologize to anyone who might have been hurt or offended, especially those in the Muslim community, and promise to exercise greater caution to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.”

Preorders for Kingdom's latest mini-album will recommence on Sept. 26, following the recall. The original release date of Oct. 18 remains unchanged.

Hong Hye-min (hhm@hankookilbo.com) is a reporter at The Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times. This article, previously published in The Hankook Ilbo, has been translated as part of a news-sharing program.