Min Hee-jin, who claimed that ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans, referred to prosecution on charges of defamation and obstruction of business

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Min Hee-jin, former CEO of ADOR Jeon (CEO), who raised suspicions that ILLIT, a girl group under HYBE's label Belift Lab, plagiarized NewJeans, an artist affiliated with ADOR, has been referred to the prosecution on charges including defamation.

According to police on the 14th, the Seoul Yongsan Police Station referred Min Jeon (CEO) to the prosecution on the 1st on charges of obstruction of business and defamation.

Min Jeon (CEO) is suspected of disseminating false information with the intent to defame HYBE and Belift Lab, despite there being no fact that ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans.

Min Jeon (CEO) held a press conference in April 2024, claiming that ILLIT had plagiarized NewJeans' audition poster, hanbok photo shoot concept, debut method, choreography, and so on.

In response, Belift Lab stated at the time through an official position that "we have filed a complaint against Min Jeon (CEO), who is causing damage by unilaterally asserting false facts against our company and affiliated artists, on charges of obstruction of business and defamation."

Additionally, regarding ADOR's issuance of a statement to the effect that "ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans" three days before the press conference, police determined that Lee So-oh and Shin Mo-oh, who were then vice presidents of ADOR, also met the same charges as Min Jeon (CEO).

Previously, in civil litigation between NewJeans and ADOR, the court did not accept Min Jeon (CEO)'s plagiarism claims. In the preliminary injunction hearing for confirmation of ADOR's status as a management agency over NewJeans held in March last year, the panel stated, "It is difficult to view ILLIT's concept as plagiarizing NewJeans, and it is ambiguous whether NewJeans' concept qualifies as an object of intellectual property protection."

In October of the same year, during the main trial for confirmation of the validity of NewJeans' exclusive contract, the panel also ruled that "while some similarities between NewJeans and ILLIT are confirmed in planning proposals, photo shoots, etc., it is insufficient to find that ILLIT replicated NewJeans' concept, and there is no other evidence to support such a finding."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original