Belift Lab, the management agency of girl group ILLIT, has countered the plagiarism allegations made by ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin against NewJeans by filing criminal charges for obstruction of business and defamation, along with an additional civil lawsuit.
In a statement released on June 10, Belift Lab said, “After Min Hee-jin’s second press conference on May 31, we decided we could no longer delay expressing our position,” adding, “We are clarifying Belift Lab’s stance on Min through written and video statements.”
Belift Lab said, “The injunction granted by the Seoul Central District Court on May 30 was a decision to prevent HYBE from exercising its voting rights at ADOR’s temporary shareholders’ meeting, not a ruling on the plagiarism issue,” arguing, “It should not be misconstrued as if Min’s side won a judgment on the plagiarism matter.”
“Separate from the injunction, the criminal case we have filed against Min for obstruction of business and defamation will now proceed,” they added. “In addition, we will file a civil lawsuit to hold Min accountable for the damages suffered by our artists, Belift Lab staff, and participating creators who have endured the burden of plagiarism accusations despite achieving remarkable debut success in K-pop history.”
Belift Lab criticized Min for using an innocent rookie group as a scapegoat for her own benefit. They claimed that the ADOR CEO disparaged HYBE’s new girl group as imitations or knock-offs to pressure HYBE, and argued that Min’s attacks and denigrations of Belift Lab artists were based on selectively edited photos and videos taken out of context.
The agency explained, “We had refrained from making detailed statements in the hope that Min would rectify this issue herself. However, she has misled the public by interpreting the injunction decision as if the court had validated her claims, and continues to reiterate her position.” They expressed regret that “Min’s plagiarism claims, used for personal gain, were negatively impacting the entire pop culture industry.”
Belift lab also noted, “Although Min outwardly showed gestures of reconciliation, she has not offered any apologies or reflection to the innocent victims, including artists suffering from severe online harassment,” and called this “very regrettable.”
Regarding the video containing their stance, Belift Lab said, “It analyzes the problems with Min’s plagiarism claims and their potential impact on K-pop and broader pop culture,” adding, “The video clearly explains the arbitrary nature of her ‘production formula’ criteria, and refutes her claims by highlighting how marketing activities and hanbok photoshoots, which have many prior similar examples, were falsely presented as new creations by Min.”
