On January 10, the Seoul Western District Court held the first hearing for Belift Lab’s ₩2 billion damages claim against Min Hee-jin.
Belift Lab claims Min Hee-jin made false claims during press conferences, accusing ILLIT of copying NewJeans’ concept. According to Belift Lab, these allegations negatively impacted ILLIT’s social media following, album sales, and advertising contracts, resulting in losses totaling ₩2 billion.
The judge summarized Belift Lab’s position:
- ILLIT’s concept and branding focuses on real teenagers, in contrast to NewJeans’ nostalgic Y2K theme.
- Belift Lab says no interaction or exchange of ideas occurred between the two groups.
- Min Hee-jin’s statements constituted defamatory falsehoods, causing significant harm.
Min Hee-jin, however, maintains that her statements were not false but rather opinions intended to serve the public interest. It also denies any intention to disrupt Belift Lab’s operations.
In April last year, Min Hee-jin accused ILLIT of plagiarizing the NewJeans concept, citing reactions to ILLIT’s teaser photos, which she said bore striking similarities to NewJeans. Belift Lab refuted the allegations, stating that the ILLIT concept was finalized internally in July 2023, well before the so-called proposal referenced by Min Hee-jin was submitted in late August 2023.
The agency subsequently filed a defamation lawsuit against Min Hee-jin, while she responded by suing Belift Lab’s CEO for defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act and seeking ₩5 billion in damages.
