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On Monday, November 18, 2024, Star News reported that BELIFT LAB had sued former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin over plagiarism accusations. The HYBE subsidiary label filed a criminal lawsuit at the 12th Civil Affairs Department of the Seoul Western District Court, seeking 2 billion KRW (approximately $1.4 million) in damages. The first hearing is reported to be held on January 10, 2025.
For the unversed, BELIFT LAB and former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin locked horns after the latter accused the media company of plagiarising NewJeans to debut its rookie group, ILLIT. Both are HYBE subsidiary labels; however, in April 2024, Min Hee-jin claimed that BELIFT LAB copied NewJeans' concept and choreography.
On November 12, reports claimed that the label also copied the group's planning proposal, as both documents of ILLIT and NewJeans contained the same designs, fonts, themes, and content. However, on November 18, Min Hee-jin told Star News:
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"Despite the specific testimony of the internal informant at Hybe and the clear similarities, they are denying it and misleading public opinion."
In response, BELIFT LAB claimed that Min Hee-jin made "unilateral false claims" against them and ILLIT. They accused her of sacrificing "an innocent group" for her personal benefit.
"Min Hee-jin sacrificed an innocent rookie group for her own personal gain. We express regret that by claiming plagiarism as a means of securing her own personal gain, she is having a negative impact on popular culture as a whole," the company said.
Min Hee-jin claps back at BELIFT LAB over the new criminal lawsuit against her
As per a Star News report on November 18, the former ADOR CEO claimed that ILLIT's label was the one that "spread numerous false facts" and committed "obstruction of business." She accused them of causing damage to NewJeans' (ADOR's girl group) reputation and inconveniencing them.
"It was Hybe and Belief Lab who brought out issues that could have been resolved internally, spread numerous false facts, and committed obstruction of business and defamation. They need to look back and see who it is that is claiming obstruction of business by using a new artist as a shield without considering the damage caused to NewJeans."
Previously, in July 2024, Min Hee-jin claimed during her injunction hearing at the 50th Civil Agreement Division that BELIFT LAB plagiarised NewJeans. The case went viral recently after Hankyoreh Newspaper obtained the alleged original NewJeans' seven-year planning proposal created by Min Hee-jin.
A HYBE whistleblower claimed that ILLIT's 21-year-planning proposal was copied from NewJeans debut in 2022. Both documents reportedly referenced popular American YouTuber Emma Chamberlain as their inspiration.
In other news, NewJeans sent a letter demanding that ADOR reinstate Min Hee-jin as the label's CEO before November 29, 2024. The group said they would terminate the exclusive contract if their demands weren't fulfilled.
