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On Wednesday, May 22, 2024, the South Korean media outlet Sports Dunga reported that ILLIT's agency Belift Lab officially sued ADOR's CEO Min Hee-jin and filed a lawsuit for defamation against her following alleged plagiarism accusations. Min Hee-jin previously accused the rising K-pop group ILLIT of plagiarizing NewJeans' concept, choreography, styling, music video design, and tracks.
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Belift Lab shared an official press release with the above-mentioned outlet and on their official X account, declaring that they have filed a complaint against Min Hee-jin for defaming their artist. The agency mentioned, as translated by Koreaboo:
"Today (May 22), we have filed a complaint against Min Hee Jin CEO, on charges of obstruction of business and defamation due to the damages she is causing by claiming one-sided false information against our company and our artist."
Belift Lab denied Min Hee-jin's claims that ILLIT copied NewJeans and announced to take legal actions
Belift Lab refuted ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin's plagiarism accusations against ILLIT and stated the group never copied NewJeans. They also revealed the actions taken by the agency to protect their artists. The agency announced plans to resolve the ongoing crisis through legal means, as translated by Koreaboo:
"Regarding her allegations of ILLIT plagiarising another artist, we would like to clarify that this is not true. We have submitted evidence to relevant law enforcement agencies to prove that the allegations differ from the truth. Even if it takes some time, we will sort out these disputes according to the legal processes."
The HYBE subsidiary also apologized to the fandom for the group's accomplishments being undermined due to the spread of false accusations by ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin. The agency stated that the plagiarism of intellectual property should be judged by the proper procedures and not based on Min Hee-jin's personal interpretations. It further said the following, as translated by Koreaboo:
"Plagiarism of intellectual property is an issue that needs to be judged by proper criteria and procedures, not one person’s biased and distorted interpretations. Nevertheless, we would like to apologize for the situation where our artists’ efforts and achievements are being disparaged due to the thoughtless speculation and spread of false information."
The girl group's agency further disclosed the deteriorating mental state of the group members due to the ongoing issues between HYBE and Min Hee-jin. They requested everyone to refrain from spreading hatred, slander, and false information against the group and assured fans they would do their best to protect the artists.
"In addition, while the root issue has nothing to do with the ILLIT members, they are suffering from a serious level of malicious comments, ridicule, and personal attacks. We would like to sincerely ask everyone to stop their insults, slander, spread of false information, and defamation against our artists. We will do our best to protect our artists and the members," the agency commented, as translated by Koreaboo.
ILLIT is a rising K-pop group formed by Belift Lab, a subsidiary of Hybe Corporation, and consists of five members, including Moka, Wonhee, Minju, Yunah, and Iroha. They debuted with their extended play Super Real Me on March 25, 2024, with the leading track Magnetic.
