ILLIT Plagiarism Lawsuit is set for January
The “ILLIT Plagiarism Lawsuit,” which is leading to a conflict between former CEO Min Heejin and Belift Lab, will begin its trial in January next year.
According to the legal community, the 12th Civil Affairs Department (C) of the Seoul Western District Court will hold the first hearing on January 10 next year for the lawsuit filed by ILLIT’s agency Belift Lab against former CEO Min Hee-jin. One of the eye-catching aspects is the amount of damages sought by Belift Lab, which totals 2 billion won.
Belift Lab filed the lawsuit in June, asserting that ILLIT did not plagiarize New Jeans’ plan. “ILLIT’s branding strategy and concept were finalized and shared internally on July 21, 2023,” the agency, Belift Lab stated. “The informant sent the so-called ‘plan’ after that, on August 28, 2023, so it cannot have affected ILLIT’s concept.”
Earlier, Min Heejin’s representative lawyer disclosed information from an employee inside HYBE, claiming that “ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans” during a court hearing related to a provisional injunction concerning voting rights in HYBE. According to the report, the informant said that ILLIT’s Creative Director received NewJeans’ proposal from the beginning of ILLIT’s conception, and that ILLIT and New Jeans’ plans were the same. The informant reportedly said, “I never imagined it would be the same.”
In addition to the lawsuit, Belift Lab announced, “We have filed a complaint against CEO Min Heejin, who is causing damage by claiming unilateral false information against us and ILLIT.” The agency added, “Min Heejin scapegoated an innocent group of rookies for her own private interests,” expressing regret that she is “adversely affecting popular culture by claiming plagiarism as a means of securing her own private interests. If we fail to correct the act of framing and distorting positions that are supposed to be judged in the professional field, this will greatly reduce the creative activities of creators, and Min Heejin will never be free from responsibility.”
In an emergency press conference held on April 25, former CEO Min once again mentioned the similarity between New Jeans and ILLIT, saying, “Who’s benefiting from this? It’s a mess for ILLIT, too. If you do this, everyone will be same with NewJeans. I’m not criticizing ILLIT. What are they guilty of? Adults are the problem,” maintaining her stance on the plagiarism controversy.
Article about Emergency press conference > [OVERVIEW] Min Hee Jin 2nd press conference
Right after, Kim Taeho, CEO of Belift Lab, responded, “If you really say, ‘the members are not guilty?’ I think you should minimize comments when you don’t have to mention the artist. But that kind of argument is to put scarlet letter. It’s like ordering idol fans who support you and agree with you to criticize and curse at ILLIT. And that’s what happened. It was really bad.”
He then said, “It’s very surprising that someone who has worked in this industry for a long time can make this kind of claim. It’s really not easy to forgive that this unusual situation started as a false claim for some individual’s self-interest.”
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Source Article EXCLUSIVE BY Star News https://m.entertain.naver.com/now/article/108/0003283229
