Min Hee Jin, the former ADOR CEO, will go on trial in January 2025 against BELIFT LAB, which has filed a lawsuit against her.
On November 18, legal sources confirmed that the Seoul Western District Court’s 12th Civil Affairs Department had scheduled the first oral argument hearing for January 10, 2025.
BELIFT LAB is seeking 2 billion won in damages in its lawsuit against Min Hee Jin, filed in June. Notably, the label has denied allegations that ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans’ business plan.
During a Seoul Central District Court hearing, former ADOR CEO Min’s side alleged that ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans. They presented a report from a HYBE employee, which claimed that the group’s creative director received NewJeans’ plan during their planning stage.
In response, BELIFT LAB stated that the ILLIT branding strategy and concept were finalized and internally shared on July 21, 2023. They added that the informant’s report, submitted on August 28, 2023, could not have influenced their concept due to the timeline.
They have filed an additional lawsuit against Min for obstruction of business and defamation. The lawsuit states that her unfounded allegations harm the label and its artists.
BELIFT LAB criticized Min Hee-jin for prioritizing personal gain over a rookie group’s interests and undermining their success with baseless plagiarism accusations.
The company seeks to address these harmful actions to protect creators’ productivity.
On another note, Min Hee Jin was dismissed as the CEO of ADOR in August. Now, NewJeans has threatened to terminate their contract if she is not reinstated within 14 days.