BELIFT LAB sues Min Hee Jin of 2 bn KRW for accusing ILLIT of copying NewJeans’ concepts

The former CEO of ADOR asserted that ILLIT, a new female group by BELIFT LAB, had been stealing NewJeans’ idea when the Min Hee Jin vs. HYBE conflict first started. She persisted in her assertions despite the agency’s repeated denials of the charges. Later on, BELIFT LAB sued Min Hee Jin for slander, and some current information about the court case has surfaced.

A report published on November 18 stated that BELIFT LAB has sued Min Hee Jin for defaming ILLIT by accusing it of plagiarism, claiming damages of 2 billion KRW.

As part of her public dispute with HYBE, Min Hee Jin made the claims during an injunction hearing at the Seoul Central District Court a few months ago. Even a HYBE informant’s testimony was presented by her legal team. According to the employee, during the creation of ILLIT, the creative director reportedly obtained information pertaining to NewJeans’ planning.

However, BELIFT LAB, the company that owns ILLIT, flatly denied her allegations, claiming that Min Hee Jin exploited a new female group as a “scapegoat” in order to forward her personal agenda in the conflict with HYBE.

On April 25, she reiterated the accusations and expressed her concerns in a press conference. She mentioned, “I’m not attacking ILLT, but merely pointing out that the problem lies with the adults involved.”

In response, Kim Tae Ho, the CEO of the HYBE subsidiary, said that if she thought the musicians had done nothing wrong, she wouldn’t have brought up the accusations needlessly.

The ILLIT agency filed a defamation lawsuit against Min Hee Jin in June, stating that they were unable to copy NewJeans because the conceptualization and branding strategy for their new girl group were finalized by July 21, 2023, while the alleged document mentioned by the informant arrived two months later.