안녕하세요, 팀 버니즈입니다.
11월 11일자 보도된 한겨레의 빌리프랩 뉴진스 기획안 표절 관련 단독 기사를 확인했습니다.저희는 제보자를 통해 국정감사 이전에 빌리프랩 모 아티스트의 기획안과 구 어도어 뉴진스 기획안 비교 자료를 입수했으나, 감사 과정이 공정하게 진행되기를 바라며… pic.twitter.com/SA2MmwkpoL
— 팀 버니즈 (@NewJeansSTRM) November 12, 2024
Hello, this is Team Bunnies.
We have reviewed The Hankyoreh’s exclusive article dated November 11, regarding the plagiarism allegations involving Belift Lab’s proposal for NewJeans.
Through a whistleblower, we had previously obtained a comparison of the proposal for a certain artist at Belift Lab with the former ADOR NewJeans proposal before the National Assembly audit. However, we chose not to disclose it, as we wanted the audit to proceed fairly and avoided unnecessary intervention. Furthermore, we held a sliver of hope that Belift Lab’s CEO, Kim Tae-ho, might acknowledge the plagiarism incident, offer a sincere apology, and retract any baseless lawsuits.
After confirming that the proposal in the article matches the materials we possess, we have decided we can no longer remain silent. Therefore, we are now releasing some of the undisclosed materials, including unreported details from the proposal.
A direct comparison reveals clear plagiarism that goes beyond mere reference, with more serious instances than what has been disclosed. The use of identical keywords, reference lists, adopted concepts, and even the template spacing is strikingly similar, resembling a copy-paste effort.
Considering that an internal complaint about this plagiarism incident should have prompted the parent company to mediate or resolve the issue, we cannot help but conclude that they, instead, actively obstructed the honor and future activities of the plagiarized label and its artists with a strategy aimed at erasure. This is unacceptable to the NewJeans fandom, as well as a severe violation of integrity for an entertainment company that should protect the creativity and independence of its creators. Such actions severely undermine fairness and constitute a breach of ethical standards that should not be tolerated.
The proposal also contained a malicious review format, similar to HYBE’s “Music Industry Report (Trend Report),” including the “NOT: (Artist)” description. These findings, combined with Belift Lab’s previous video statement denying the plagiarism and their October 11 statement to the media claiming that “the strategy and concept were finalized on July 21, 2023,” are proven false based on the evidence.
If Belift Lab’s statement about “finalization on July 21” is true, then the photos of the members, concept settings for each member, example concept images, member count, and average age in their proposal were already determined before the final broadcast of the survival program for that label’s artist. In that case, we must ask if they are acknowledging that the survival program itself was rigged.
Team Bunnies possesses a substantial amount of unpublished materials. Should HYBE continue with its deceptive and shameless behavior, we will sequentially release these additional materials. We sincerely hope this will not be necessary.
The individuals responsible for creating culture have repeatedly shifted blame, missing opportunities to apologize and insisting on their own correctness until now. What HYBE genuinely needs is not insincere statements filled with half-truths, threats to whistleblowers, journalists, and insiders, or excessive litigation funded by company resources but a heartfelt apology.
– 2021 Team Proposal (May 13, 2020) – Belift Lab Proposal (September 20, 2023)
