ILLIT’s agency Belift Lab sues Min Hee-jin for defamation amid HYBE-ADOR feud
Belift Lab, the K-pop agency behind K-pop girl group ILLIT, has reportedly sued Min Hee-jin, the CEO of NewJeans‘ agency ADOR. Both companies are subsidiaries of entertainment giant HYBE.
According to news reports by Yonhap News Agency and Korea JoongAng Daily, Belift Lab filed a defamation complaint against ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin for claiming that ILLIT had plagiarised the Min-produced girl group NewJeans.
“We filed a complaint against CEO Min for making false claims unilaterally against our company and artists and causing damage,” Belift Lab said in a statement. “We make it clear that the plagiarism allegations raised by Min against our artist ILLIT are not true.”
“We have submitted evidence to the judicial authorities that can prove the accusations are unfounded, and although it may take some time, we will resolve this issue through proper legal procedures,” the K-pop agency added.
Notably, both Belift Lab and ADOR are subsidiaries of South Korean entertainment giant HYBE, which is also home to Big Hit Music (BTS, Tomorrow X Together) and other labels.
The lawsuit comes amid an increasingly heated feud between ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin and HYBE over the ownership of the NewJeans label. Back in April, Min had claimed that HYBE and Belift Lab were “undermining” the success of NewJeans by creating a copycat version of the quintet.
Meanwhile, the parents of the members of NewJeans have allegedly spoken out about the treatment of the K-pop girl group in a newly released letter. However, HYBE has claimed that the letter was actually written by Min Hee-jin and others at ADOR.
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Puah Ziwei
NME
