Min Hee-jin referred to prosecutors over Illit plagiarism claims

The Korea Times - Oct 14, 2026

Min Hee-jin, former CEO of HYBE subsidiary Ador, has been referred to prosecutors on suspicion of defamation and obstruction of business over her claims that HYBE girl group Illit copied NewJeans, a girl group she had nurtured. The Yongsan Police Station in Seoul confirmed Tuesday that it had sent the case to prosecutors on Oct. 1, believing Min spread false plagiarism claims to disparage HYBE and Illit's label, Belift Lab. Two former Ador vice presidents were also referred on the same allegations. Min first raised the allegations in April 2024, claiming Illit had copied NewJeans' debut strategy, choreography and visual concept. Belift Lab filed a criminal complaint against her the following month. Courts evaluating the disputes have so far declined to recognize the plagiarism claims. In March 2025, ruling on Ador's injunction request to confirm its status as NewJeans' agency, a court said it was difficult to view Illit's concept as a copy of NewJeans. In October 2025, a court upholding NewJeans' exclusive contracts with Ador found some similarities in the groups' internal documents and p

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Korean filmmaker July Jung awarded French cultural honor

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S. Korea, US agree to hold key defense talks after midterm elections: sources

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