Belift Lab has escalated its legal battle with ADOR and CEO Min Hee-Jin over plagiarism claims involving the rookie group ILLIT. On June 10, Belift Lab posted a detailed statement and video on their official social media channels. They addressed the accusations made by Min Hee-Jin, CEO of NEWJEANS’ agency, ADOR.
Belift Lab’s statement read, “Min Hee-Jin sacrificed an innocent rookie group for her gain,” adding, “We will hold CEO Min Hee-Jin accountable by filing an additional civil lawsuit today for the damages caused to the artists, Belift Lab members, and participating creators.”
Clarification on Legal Proceedings
Belift Lab clarified that the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division decision on May 30 to grant an injunction was not a ruling on the plagiarism issue. The decision was related to preventing HYBE from exercising its voting rights at ADOR’s temporary shareholders’ meeting.
“It is wrong to distort this as a victory for Min Hee-Jin on the plagiarism issue. Separate from the injunction … The criminal case for obstruction of business and defamation against Min Hee-Jin will proceed,” the statement emphasized.
Belift Lab explained their initial silence on the matter, stating, “We had a slight hope that Min Hee-Jin would correct this issue herself. However, she continues to make unilateral claims, misleading the public to believe that the injunction’s acceptance validated all her claims.”
Direct Refutations and Criticism
In addition to the statement … Belift Lab released an interview video featuring CEO Kim Tae-Ho, Deputy CEO Choi Yoon-Hyuk, and ILLIT’s performance director Myung Sang-Woo, directly refuting the alleged similarities between ILLIT and NEWJEANS.
They criticized Min Hee-Jin’s approach, stating, “In her second press conference, Min Hee-Jin superficially showed gestures of reconciliation. Still, she has not offered a single word of apology or reflection to the innocent victims, including the artists suffering from severe malicious comments due to her actions. Instead, she shifted the blame to others, such as the media. This is highly regrettable.”
Belift Lab attempted to justify ILLIT’s similarities to NEWJEANS by listing other K-pop groups and questioning … “If we copied NEWJEANS, did NEWJEANS copy them?” Co-CEO Kim Tae-ho added that they did not believe NEWJEANS copied anyone and therefore should be given the same grace.
Netizen Reactions
Despite Belift Lab’s intentions, netizens reacted negatively to the video, criticizing the label for revisiting the plagiarism accusations and dragging NEWJEANS and other groups into the controversy.
Many were surprised and disapproved of Belift Lab’s approach, viewing it as an attempt to deflect blame and undermine other artists with comments like:
- Wow, this is so pathetic that I don’t have anything to say.
- Seriously, you guys are trying to be funny, right? LOL.
- I’ve never seen a label upload a video this pathetic before.
- NMIXX released their song after NewJeans… Do you not check your facts? I can’t believe this was actually uploaded by the label.
- This is an official channel, right? You guys weren’t hacked, right? You know that the plagiarism allegations were there even before Min Hee Jin’s press conference, right? Do you not monitor fan communities?
- Is resembling a group from 30 years prior the same as copying a group from a year ago? If you want to claim you didn’t plagiarize, shouldn’t you reveal the production concept for the group?
The ongoing legal battle between Belift Lab and ADOR’s CEO Min Hee-Jin continues to generate significant attention, controversy and now, unintentional comic relief by Belift Lab.
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