BELIFT LAB's CEO defends ILLIT over NewJeans plagiarism allegations at National Assembly; reiterates lawsuit against Min Hee Jin

BELIFT LAB's CEO has recently attended the National Assembly audit and adressed the plagiarism accusations against ILLIT.

By Hrishita Das

Published on Oct 24, 2024 | 07:23 PM IST | 299.6K

NewJeans: courtesy of ADOR, ILLIT: courtesy of BELIFT LAB

BELIFT LAB’s CEO recently attended the National Assembly audit and has directly spoken about the plagiarism allegations against ILLIT. Earlier, Min Hee Jin accused the group of ‘copying’ NewJeans’ concept for their debut, which caused uproar amongst the fans and community. Moreover, the former ADOR CEO is also facing a lawsuit for the accusations she made.

On October 24, 2024, Kim Tae Ho, the current CEO of BELIFT LAB, attended the National Assembly audit organized by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee. As a witness, the CEO spoke about the plagiarism allegations against their newly formed girl group ILLIT. ADOR’s former CEO, Min Hee Jin accused ILLIT of imitating NewJeans in various aspects of their entertainment activities, including their hair, makeup, costumes, choreography, photography, videos, and event appearances.

However, Kim Tae Ho has reassured that a criminal and civil lawsuit has been filed against Min Hee Jin for her ‘baseless’ accusations. The agency is currently awaiting the judiciary's ruling, stating that they will present documents and evidence in court to prove the plagiarism claims are unfounded. Additionally, they acknowledged that many people have been exhausted by the events of this year and assured that efforts will be made to prevent such issues from recurring. The CEO also expressed an apology for the strain this situation has caused on fans and the public.

The conflict between HYBE and ADOR started when the former conducted an audit, including that of the CEO Min Hee Jin after the information rolled out that they were attempting to separate management rights. HYBE sent a letter asking Min Hee Jin to step down from the CEO position. However, Min Hee Jin denies the accusations and argues that the main issue is about BELIFT LAB copying the concepts from NewJeans for their newly formed girl group, ILLIT.

Currently, Min Hee Jin has been removed from the CEO position at ADOR nad appointed as an in-house director. Moreover, Newjeans member Hanni also attended the National Assembly audit earlier and spoke out about workplace bullying she face at the HYBE headquarters.