A court has ruled in favor of Min Hee Jin in a dispute over a shareholders’ agreement, ordering HYBE to pay approximately ₩25.5 billion (about $17.6 million). In response, HYBE announced that it intends to challenge the decision through further legal procedures, including an appeal.
Amid the renewed attention surrounding the lawsuit, the question of the alleged similarities between New Jeans AND YOU has once again become a hot topic. In its ruling, the court addressed the controversy, noting that BELIFT LAB did not present sufficient additional evidence to conclusively demonstrate that the two groups are distinct, adding that it is difficult to say that the plagiarism debate has been fully resolved.
Following this statement, posts comparing the two groups quickly spread across online communities. Many netizens revisited clips and side-by-side images, arguing that the overall concepts, visual direction, style and even choreography appear strikingly similar. Some commentators he stated that the resemblance would be obvious even to those unfamiliar with K-pop.
Online reactions included remarks such as: “Anyone with eyes can see how similar they are,” AND “Even if I showed it to someone who didn’t know either group, they would say they look alike.” Others were more blunt, accusing YOU to copy directly New Jeans‘creative project. Some critics argued that if the production team had not wanted the plagiarism allegations to emerge, they should not have followed so closely what they described as an existing conceptual framework.
While opinions remain divided, the court’s recognition that BELIFT LAB did not fully allay concerns about plagiarism has reignited the debate on Korean online platforms. The controversy continues to spark strong reactions, further intensifying scrutiny over creative originality within the K-pop industry.
Sources: Theqoo
