Kim appeared as a witness at the inspection of the National Comprehensive Assembly of the Committee on Culture, Sports and Tourism on the afternoon of October 24, where he spoke about the controversies surrounding HYBE and Belift Lab.
Former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin says his conflict with HYBE began because of ILLIT’s plagiarism of NewJeans. She claims that when she raised suspicions that ILLIT was copying NewJeans, HYBE suddenly began auditing her under the guise of taking management control.
Belift Lab has repeatedly denied that ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans and has filed criminal and civil suits against former CEO Min Hee-jin for business obstruction and defamation. Kim reiterated that ILLIT did not plagiarize NewJeans, stating: “We have filed civil lawsuits and criminal charges against Min Hee-jin and are waiting for the court’s decision.” He stressed that they intend to clarify the truth in court by presenting evidence and materials proving the falsehood of the accusations, following appropriate procedures.
Kim also denied allegations that HYBE manipulated album sales figures through forced sales practices.
Min Hyung-bae, a member of the Democratic Party, questioned whether HYBE had engaged in forced sales by selling albums with return conditions or using events such as fan signings and lucky polaroids to dispose of albums. Kim replied: “There are no return conditions,” but recognized, “There have been some internal audits due to some complaints. It was confirmed that albums sold in 2023 were structured with a very small percentage eligible for returns. However, we have never sold albums with a return condition.“
Representative Min cited phrases such as “planned return project” from an email dated January 4, 2024, to reiterate suspicions that HYBE manipulated album sales data through forced sales practices. In response, Kim clarified: “Returns have been processed for albums sold in 2023, which occurred in January, and we have ensured that this practice cannot continue in the future.“
He added: “This was not a company policy but rather a decision made by some staff members. We have established guidelines to prevent such sales practices, as they are contrary to company regulations”, underlining that: “This has not been done to the point of disrupting the market or significantly impacting our sales figures.“
Recently, various incidents involving HYBE have made headlines in the entertainment industry. Kim concluded: “I understand that this series of events has caused fatigue for many people this year and we will work to ensure this does not happen again. We sincerely apologize for the great tiredness caused. We believe that the fundamental mission of an entertainment company is to bring joy to fans and audiences. It is true that there have been many regrettable aspects this year. We will work hard to prevent such issues from causing fatigue in the future.“
Source: SpoTV News
