Min Hee-jin won a damages lawsuit filed by BELIFT LAB’s creative director over her ILLIT plagiarism claims, and the appeal was dropped.
September/18/2026 18:55
Former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin won the damages lawsuit filed by Mr. Huh, who serves as creative director at HYBE subsidiary BELIFT LAB. According to Korean reports today (the 18th), Judge Park Geun-gyu of the Seoul Western District Court Civil Division 22 dismissed all of the damages claims that Mr. Huh had filed last month against Min Hee-jin and former ADOR Vice President Shin. Afterwards, because Mr. Huh abandoned his appeal, former CEO Min Hee-jin’s victory was finalized. Accordingly, Mr. Huh will bear the litigation costs. Prior to this, in April 2024, Min Hee-jin held a press conference claiming that ILLIT had copied NewJeans. At that press conference, Min Hee-jin claimed that ILLIT had imitated NewJeans in a wide range of areas, including hairstyle, makeup, clothing, choreography, photos, and videos. In response, Mr. Huh filed a damages lawsuit, claiming that his reputation had been damaged by Min Hee-jin’s false statements. He also sought joint liability for damages against Mr. Shin, alleging that he had conspired with Min Hee-jin. The court determined that, based only on the evidence submitted by Mr. Huh, it was difficult to conclude that the former vice president Shin had been involved in Min Hee-jin’s actions. The court also explained that because Mr. Huh’s name and title were not included in the press conference or the statement, it was difficult to identify Mr. Huh as the victim of defamation. Furthermore, the court judged that Min Hee-jin had merely raised issues across ILLIT’s overall entertainment activities, including hair, makeup, clothing, choreography, photos, and videos, and had not specifically pointed to the “visual field” handled by Mr. Huh and claimed that ILLIT had copied NewJeans. For these reasons, the court dismissed Mr. Huh’s damages claim against Min Hee-jin, saying it was difficult to regard Mr. Huh as specifically identified as the victim of the unlawful act. • Min Hee-jin and Hikorohee meet face to face! Their two-shot becomes a hot topic: “Happy to meet” • Min Hee-jin and BELIFT LAB clash again over the intent behind statements regarding ILLIT’s plagiarism allegations
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