Min Hee-jin, former CEO of Ador. [Yonhap]
Min Hee-jin, former CEO of Ador. [Yonhap]

Min Hee-jin, the former CEO of Ador who alleged that HYBE subsidiary Belift Lab's girl group ILLIT had copied Ador's girl group NewJeans, has been referred to prosecutors on charges of defamation and obstruction of business.

Seoul's Yongsan Police Station referred Min to prosecutors on Oct. 1 on charges of obstruction of business and defamation, according to Yonhap.

Min is suspected of spreading false information with the intent to defame HYBE and Belift Lab, despite no evidence that ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans.

At a press conference in April 2024, Min said she was not criticizing ILLIT itself but rather the adults behind the decisions. "If you put the Belift Lab poster next to the NewJeans girl group audition poster, they look identical," she said. "There was also a hanbok photo shoot taken in a formal style at a historic palace — we were the only ones who had done that, and this was also similar."

She also said, "Why did they use our choreography without permission? Our choreographers are furious. This is a path that ruins ILLIT too." She added, "When kids see someone easily copy their style and succeed, it crushes them. Each group needs its own identity — if everyone becomes NewJeans, that's bad for NewJeans too."

Belift Lab had previously issued an official statement saying it was "saddened to see the efforts and achievements of our artists and staff belittled by reckless speculation and false information," and confirmed it had filed a complaint with police against Min.

Police also found grounds to charge two former Ador deputy CEOs — identified only by their surnames Lee and Shin — along with Min, in connection with a statement Ador released before the press conference alleging that ILLIT had plagiarized NewJeans.

They were also referred to prosecutors on the same day on charges of defamation and obstruction of business.

The police referral appears to align with earlier court rulings that declined to recognize the plagiarism allegations.

In a preliminary injunction case in March last year seeking confirmation of Ador's status as NewJeans' management agency, the court said it was "difficult to conclude that ILLIT's concept plagiarized NewJeans," adding that NewJeans' concept was "too vague to qualify for intellectual property protection."

In a separate ruling on the merits of NewJeans' exclusive contract case handed down in October of the same year, the court acknowledged "some similarities between NewJeans and ILLIT in planning documents and photo shoots" but said this fell short of proving that ILLIT had copied NewJeans' concept, adding that "there is no other evidence to support such a finding."

NewJeans releases new content for first time in 16 months

Meanwhile, on July 22 — the group's fourth debut anniversary — NewJeans surprised fans by releasing a video featuring all four members, including Minji.

The video featured every member in turn: Minji, Hyein, Haerin and Hanni.

It marked the first time in 16 months that NewJeans had produced and released new content as a group. In March last year, at a ComplexCon Hong Kong performance the members organized independently, NewJeans announced they were halting all activities, saying they would "comply with the court's decision and stop all activities."

NewJeans had fallen into conflict with their agency Ador following Min's dismissal, and at a press conference in November 2024 declared the termination of their exclusive contracts. Courts, however, ruled in Ador's favor in both the preliminary injunction and the main lawsuit, effectively blocking the members from pursuing independent activities.

Members Haerin and Hyein returned to Ador in November last year, followed by Hanni a month later in December. Ador has said it is in positive discussions with Minji regarding her return.

NewJeans made their debut on July 22, 2022, with the surprise release of the music video for their debut track "Attention."

The group went on to score hit after hit — including "Hype Boy," "Ditto," "OMG" and "Super Shy" — building a wide following.


yul@heraldcorp.com