On the afternoon of January 10, the 12th Civil Division of the Seoul Western District Court held the first hearing for a damages lawsuit filed by Belift Lab against Min Hee-jin, seeking KRW 2 billion in damages. The first hearing for a separate lawsuit filed by Source Music, seeking KRW 500 million, also took place on the same day.
Only legal representatives of both parties attended the hearings. The presiding judge stated: “The defendant (Min Hee-jin) is accused of neglecting the group’s debut process, while the plaintiff claims that his actions constituted spreading false information and obstructing business. The plaintiff is seeking damages amounting to KRW 501 million, including losses from advertising contracts.”
The judge continued: “Defendant discussed her membership in HYBE, the preparation process for NewJeans, and the conflicts she experienced with HYBE, including the debut of ILLIT and internal complaints. The appellant argues that her statements are problematic. The defendant claimed that the “S21” project it was preparing was canceled due to the interference of the plaintiff.”
The judge further noted: “The defendant criticized Bang Si-hyuk’s skills and claimed that HYBE broke the promise that NewJeans would debut first, which led to their transfer to ADOR for a quicker debut. The defendant maintains that his statements were made in the public interest and denies any illegality.”
Regarding the issue of defamation, the judge stated: “The defendant argues that it is necessary to examine whether his remarks were defamatory. The plaintiff suggests that this case may be reviewed alongside the Belift Lab lawsuit, to which the plaintiff agreed.”
The appellant stated: “The defendant made unfounded and offensive remarks during publicly visible press conferences. The key question is whether his statements qualify as falsehoods. The members of NewJeans were chosen and trained over several years, with Hanni Pham selected through a global audition. The defendant did not lead the casting process, which was handled by HYBE.”
The appellant added: “The defendant was responsible for branding, but there were delays and failure to complete tasks within the stipulated time.”
Min Hee-jin’s legal team countered: “NewJeans was created after Bang Si-hyuk recruited Min Hee-jin in 2019, giving her the project because he felt he couldn’t do it alone. The overall concept and member selection for NewJeans was decided by Min Hee-jin. To claim that Source Music handled the casting is absurd.“
The defense further argued: “HYBE announced plans to launch a “girl group with Min Hee-jin’s unique style”, which led to the creation of NewJeans. The claim that Source Music was responsible for casting the members makes no sense.”
Min Hee-jin’s legal team also said: “LE SSERAFIM’s debut was being prepared internally at Source Music, and they debuted first. What would the members of NewJeans and their parents, who expected an early debut, feel? After LE SSERAFIM’s debut, it became difficult for NewJeans to debut under the same label, prompting Min Hee-jin to move the group to ADOR. The lawsuits by Belift Lab and others against Min Hee-jin appear to be retaliatory, aiming to silence her. For us it is absolutely not defamation.“
The defense presented evidence, including more than 1,000 pages of documents, and both sides agreed to proceed with a trial based on the presentation at the next hearing.
The dispute began in April last year when Min Hee-jin accused Belift Lab of plagiarizing NewJeans’ concept for ILLIT. Min stated that the teaser images of ILLIT were so similar to NewJeans that many netizens initially thought they were for NewJeans. Belift Lab denied the allegations, saying that ILLIT’s branding and concept were finalized in July 2023, well before the so-called proposal Min refers to was submitted in late August 2023.
Belift Lab filed a complaint against Min Hee-jin for business obstruction and defamation, while Min filed a counter-suit against Belift Lab CEO Kim Tae-ho, seeking KRW 5 billion in damages.
Min Hee-jin also said in a previous press conference that some members of NewJeans, initially under Source Music, were overlooked and raised questions about LE SSERAFIM debuting before NewJeans. Source Music denied these claims, stating: “We have never copied Min Hee-jin’s throwing strategies or upheld any of her complaints.”
Meanwhile, HYBE launched an audit against Min Hee-jin last year, accusing her of trying to take management control. Min denied the allegations and held a press conference in April last year to accuse HYBE of hindering ADOR’s operations. She resigned as ADOR’s internal director in November last year and left HYBE. The same month, members of NewJeans announced the termination of their contracts with ADOR and declared their intention to operate independently. Subsequently, ADOR filed a lawsuit to confirm the validity of its exclusive contracts with NewJeans.
