On the afternoon of January 10, the Seoul Western District Court’s Civil Division 12 held the first hearing for a damages lawsuit filed by Belift Lab against Min Hee-jin, claiming 2 billion KRW in damages. On the same day, the first hearing for a separate lawsuit filed by Source Music, demanding 500 million KRW, also took place.
Only legal representatives from both sides attended the hearings. The presiding judge stated, “The defendant (Min Hee-jin) is accused of neglecting the group’s debut process, while the plaintiff alleges that her actions constituted the dissemination of false information and obstruction of business. The plaintiff claims damages amounting to 501 million KRW, including losses from advertising contracts.”
The judge continued, “The defendant discussed her joining HYBE, the process of preparing for NewJeans and the conflicts she experienced with HYBE, including the debut of ILLIT and internal whistleblowing. The plaintiff argues that her statements are problematic. The defendant claimed that the ‘S21’ project she was preparing was canceled due to the plaintiff’s interference.”
The judge also noted, “The defendant criticized Bang Si-hyuk‘s capabilities and stated that HYBE broke their promise that NewJeans would debut first, which led to their transfer to ADOR for a quicker debut. The defendant claims her statements were made in the public interest and denies any illegality.”
Regarding the issue of defamation, the judge said, “The defendant argues that whether her remarks were defamatory needs to be examined. The plaintiff suggests that this case can be reviewed alongside the Belift Lab lawsuit, to which the plaintiff agreed.”
The plaintiff stated, “The defendant made baseless and insulting remarks during press conferences that were publicly viewable. The key issue is whether her statements qualify as falsehoods. NewJeans members were cast and trained for several years, with Hanni Pham selected through a global audition. The defendant did not lead the casting process, which was handled by HYBE.”
The plaintiff added, “The defendant was responsible for branding, but there were delays and failures to complete tasks within the set timeline.”
Min Hee-jin’s legal team countered, “NewJeans was created after Bang Si-hyuk recruited Min Hee-jin in 2019, entrusting her with the project because he felt he couldn’t do it himself. The overall concept and member selection for NewJeans were decided by Min Hee-jin. Claiming that Source Music handled the casting is absurd.“
The defense further argued, “HYBE announced plans to launch a ‘girl group with Min Hee-jin’s unique style’, which led to the creation of NewJeans. The claim that Source Music was responsible for casting the members makes no sense.”
Min Hee-jin’s legal team also stated, “LE SSERAFIM’s debut was being prepared internally at Source Music, and they debuted first. What would the NewJeans members and their parents, who expected an earlier debut, have felt? After LE SSERAFIM’s debut, it became challenging for NewJeans to debut under the same label, prompting Min Hee-jin to transfer the group to ADOR. The lawsuits by Belift Lab and others against Min Hee-jin appear to be retaliatory, aiming to silence her. For us, it is absolutely not defamation.“
The defense presented evidence, including over 1,000 pages of documents, and both sides agreed to proceed with a presentation-based trial in the next hearing.
The dispute began in April last year when Min Hee-jin accused Belift Lab of plagiarizing the concept of NewJeans for ILLIT. Min claimed that teaser images for ILLIT were so similar to NewJeans that many netizens initially thought they were for NewJeans. Belift Lab denied the allegations, asserting that ILLIT’s branding and concept were finalized in July 2023, well before the so-called proposal Min referred to was submitted in late August 2023.
Belift Lab filed a complaint against Min Hee-jin for obstruction of business and defamation, while Min filed a counter-lawsuit against Belift Lab CEO Kim Tae-ho, demanding 5 billion KRW in damages.
Min Hee-jin also alleged in a previous press conference that some NewJeans members, initially under Source Music, were neglected and raised issues about LE SSERAFIM debuting before NewJeans. Source Music denied these claims, stating, “We have never copied Min Hee-jin’s launch strategies nor acknowledged any complaints from her.”
Meanwhile, HYBE launched an audit against Min Hee-jin last year, accusing her of attempting to seize management control. Min denied the allegations and held a press conference in April last year to accuse HYBE of obstructing ADOR’s operations. She resigned as an internal director at ADOR in November last year and left HYBE. The same month, NewJeans members announced the termination of their contracts with ADOR and stated their intention to operate independently. After that, ADOR filed a lawsuit to confirm the validity of its exclusive contracts with NewJeans.
The post Source Music “Min Hee-jin Made Insulting Remarks About Bang Si-hyuk in Public, Hanni Pham Was Selected Through HYBE’s Audition” appeared first on KBIZoom. KBIZoom – Breaking news about K-pop, K-drama, Anime/Manga and worldwide entertainment KBIZoom – Breaking news about K-pop, K-drama, Anime/Manga and worldwide entertainment
