ILLIT’s Label Challenges Min Hee-jin’s Plagiarism Claims In $1.45M Defamation Case

Former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin appeared in court again on Friday (July 18) for the third oral hearing in a 2 billion won ($1.45 million) defamation lawsuit filed by HYBE’s label Belift Lab. The case centers on Min’s public claims that Belift plagiarized concepts from her and ADOR’s work with the girl group NewJeans in their promotion of ILLIT. Belift Lab initially filed the lawsuit in May 2024, accusing Min of defamation and obstruction of business.

A separate hearing for a 500 million won ($360,000) lawsuit filed by Source Music, initially scheduled for the same day, was postponed to Aug. 22. Source Music had filed its claim in July 2024, alleging that Min’s statements constituted false information and harmed both the company and its artists.

The Belift Lab hearing was originally scheduled for May 2025 but was rescheduled to July 18 at the request of Min’s legal team. With Source Music’s case delayed, only the Belift-Min proceedings took place that day. Both sides were given 30 minutes each to present their arguments in court.

Belift Lab emphasized Min’s influence as a prominent producer in the K-pop industry and questioned whether labeling a rookie group as plagiarists less than a month after their debut could truly be seen as serving the public interest. The label argued that the elements Min cited — hanbok styling, choreography and hairstyles — are widely used across K-pop. They also noted that Min herself had faced accusations of similarity during NewJeans’ “Ditto” era.

In response, Min’s legal team stated that from ILLIT’s debut, both domestic and international fans and critics had consistently pointed out similarities between the two groups, claiming the resemblance was too significant to be coincidental. They further argued that HYBE initiated an abnormal internal audit of ADOR shortly after Min raised these concerns, framing the current dispute as a matter of defamation and business interference rather than copyright infringement.

The proceedings follow a recent development on July 15, when police dismissed HYBE’s criminal complaint against Min for breach of trust, concluding there was no evidence of wrongdoing. However, the ongoing conflict between HYBE labels and Min Hee-jin, which began with an internal audit of ADOR in 2024, remains unresolved.

NewJeans will celebrate their third debut anniversary on July 22, though the group is currently on hiatus.