Former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin has won a civil lawsuit filed by Serian Heu, a creative director at HYBE subsidiary BELIFT LAB, over claims that the group ILLIT copied NewJeans. The ruling became final after Heu withdrew her appeal.
The Seoul Western District Court dismissed all of Heu’s claims for damages against Min and former ADOR Vice President Shin on August 21st, ordering Heu to cover all legal expenses. Heu had originally sought 100 million won ($74,000) plus interest in compensation.
The conflict comes from April 22nd, 2024, when Min released a public statement accusing BELIFT LAB’s new girl group, ILLIT, of plagiarizing NewJeans, during a press conference on April 25th.
Heu subsequently sued, arguing that Min’s public statements, press conferences, court filings and internal emails contained false claims that damaged her personal reputation. She also named Shin in the lawsuit, claiming the former VP collaborated with Min.
However, the court rejected all claims against both defendants. Regarding Shin, judges ruled that Heu failed to provide sufficient evidence proving Shin actively colluded with Min or aided in the alleged actions.
As for Min, the court concluded that her statements did not directly identify Heu. Neither the official press release nor the April press conference mentioned Heu by name or specific title, making it legally difficult to view her as a direct target of defamation. While Heu argued that Min accused ILLIT of copying NewJeans across all creative areas—including hair, makeup, styling, choreography and visual concepts—the court deemed these general observations about the group rather than personal attacks on Heu’s individual work in BELIFT LAB’s visual department.
The court also noted that Heu had posted and later deleted an Instagram story displaying a middle-finger gesture during Min’s press conference, as well as a movie poster following the release of NewJeans’ “Bubble Gum” music video. Judges observed that these posts likely contributed to the online backlash Heu received from Min’s supporters.
Because the court ruled that Min’s statements did not directly target Heu, it dismissed the suit without needing to determine whether Min’s plagiarism claims were factually false or legally improper.
>> HYBE’s Defamation Lawsuit Over ILLIT and BTS Conspiracy Rumors Rejected by Court
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