The performance director Kim Eun-ju alleges ILLIT of plagiarising NewJeans McDonald's AD 

On May 13, 2024, performance director Kim Eun-ju took to Instagram to share a story update, where she allegedly accused ILLIT of plagiarizing NewJeans McDonald AD choreography. She shared in her Instagram story:

"Sure, things can be similar! But if you 'reference,' usually you would change moves a little out of respect for each other, but this is simply a copy-and-paste."

The accusations stemmed after a netizen pointed out that the choreography of ILLIT's Lucky Girl Syndrome had alleged similarities with NewJeans McDonald's advertisement.

Recently, ILLIT has been entangled in the accusations of allegedly copying NewJeans' concept, styling, choreography, music video design, and more. The accusations started with ADOR's CEO Min Hee-jin, who trained the ADOR girl group, claiming that the BELIFT's girl group had allegedly debuted by copying the group.

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Kim Eun-ju expressed astonishment while allegedly claiming that ILLIT copied the choreography of NewJeans' McDonald's advertisement

In June 2023, NewJeans and the American multinational fast food chain McDonald's collaborated on a Chicken Dance Campaign, which featured special advertisements in ten regions of Asia. For the campaign, the group also launched an advertisement, in which they spotted dancing to the beats of music, and many fans regarded it as addictive.

Fast forward to April 25, 2024, ILLIIT dropped their Lucky Girl Syndrome dance practice video on the group's official YouTube channel. The choreography for the track included members rubbing their hands together while simultaneously moving their legs in the same direction.

Lucky Girl Syndrome was released on April 17, 2024, B-sides from their debut mini-album SUPER REAL ME.

ILLIT continued to be involved in the alleged plagiarising accusations after netizens and the performance director Kim Eun-ju of the latter girl group claimed that the said steps of Lucky Girl Syndrome were similar to the dance performance that NewJeans did for McDonaled's Dance Campaign.

Kim Eun-ju, spoke about the issue through her Instagram handle @im_jeikim and expressed her frustration, stating that ILLIT has allegedly copy-pasted NewJeans choreography for the fast food company. She shared in her story update:

“Huh? Is this for real? Even the choreography for a commercial? I’ve been holding it in all this while, but isn’t this too much to call a coincidence?’ Sure, things can be similar! But if you ‘reference,’ usually you would change moves a little out of respect for each other, but this simply a copy-and-paste.”

Soon, the issue went viral on social media, which sparked mixed reactions from the netizens. While some people condemned the director for Lucky Girl Syndrome for allegedly making the ILLIT members copy the steps, others stated many K-pop groups had similar steps and the issues were not that serious.

Meanwhile, NewJeans was announced as the ambassador for McDonald's on February 27, 2023, through the official Instagram account of the American multinational fast food company.

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The group is set to make their comeback with the release of their EP How Sweet on May 24, 2024, and it will include the lead track, B-side Bubble Gum, and instrumental versions of both songs. They will also make their Japanese debut with the single album Supernatural, including the title track, B-side song, Right Now, and two instrumental versions of the music.

The girl group also recently announced their plans for a fan meeting at Bunnies Camp 2024 at the Tokyo Dome on June 26 and June 27, 2024.