According to the legal community, the Civil Division 12 of the Seoul Western District Court has set January 10, 2025 as the first hearing date for the damages lawsuit filed by Belift Lab against former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin. Notably, the amount claimed by Belift Lab reaches a substantial 2 billion KRW.
Belift Lab had previously denied allegations that ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans’ plan and initiated the lawsuit in June. Belift Lab stated, “ILLIT’s branding strategy and concept were finalized and shared internally on July 21, 2023. The so-called ‘plan’ submitted by the whistleblower was dated August 28, 2023, making it impossible for it to have influenced ILLIT’s concept.”
Min Hee Jin’s side had earlier disclosed internal HYBE employee whistleblower reports during an injunction hearing at the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Agreement Division 50. The reports claimed that ILLIT’s creative director received NewJeans‘ plan during ILLIT’s planning stage and that the plans for both groups were identical. The whistleblower allegedly remarked, “I never imagined they would copy it exactly.”
In addition to the lawsuit, Belift Lab announced that it had filed charges against Min Hee Jin for obstruction of business and defamation. Belift Lab accused her of making false claims and harming ILLIT and Belift Lab, stating, “Min Hee Jin sacrificed an innocent rookie group for her personal gain. Her unfounded plagiarism allegations, made as a means to secure personal benefits, have negatively impacted popular culture at large. If such behavior—distorting and cherry-picking information to her advantage—goes unchecked, it will significantly stifle the creative activities of creators.”
Min Hee Jin had addressed the plagiarism controversy during an emergency press conference on April 25, reiterating similarities between NewJeans and ILLIT. She stated, “Who benefits from this? This situation is ruining ILLIT as well. If this continues, everything will just become NewJeans. I’m not criticizing ILLIT. What fault do those kids have? The issue lies with the adults.”
In response, Belift Lab’s CEO Kim Tae Ho criticized Min Hee Jin, “If she truly believes ‘the kids are not at fault’, she should minimize mentioning the artists in unnecessary contexts. However, such claims are akin to pointing fingers, rallying her supporters to criticize and insult ILLIT. And that’s exactly what happened—it was truly malicious.”
He added, “It’s really surprising that someone who has worked in this industry longer than anyone else could make such claims. It’s hard to forgive that this unprecedented situation started with baseless allegations for personal gain.”
Source: Daum
