As the dispute over allegations that "ILLIT copied NewJeans" has continued for more than half a year, Belift Lab CEO Kim Tae Ho has reiterated that there are "no similarities" between the groups.
Former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin raised a plagiarism allegation last April, claiming that the concept of Belift Lab’s new girl group, ILLIT, resembled that of NewJeans. In response, Belift Lab vehemently denied the allegations and filed a counter-suit against Min Hee Jin, citing interference with business and defamation, as well as an additional civil lawsuit.
However, last month, the plagiarism controversy surrounding NewJeans and ILLIT reignited. On the 11th of last month, during a hearing at the Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division 50 for an injunction lawsuit Min Hee Jin filed against HYBE regarding voting rights, Min Hee Jin’s side submitted evidence alleging that ILLIT’s concept had copied NewJeans’ project plan.
According to a whistleblower, ILLIT's creative director requested NewJeans' project plan from the early stages of ILLIT’s conceptualization, asserting that ILLIT’s plan mirrored that of NewJeans. In response, Belift Lab stated, "ILLIT’s branding strategy and concept were finalized and shared internally on July 21, 2023," and added, "The so-called 'project plan' was submitted by the whistleblower on August 29, 2023, a date that would not have allowed it to influence ILLIT’s concept, given the timeline."
During the latest interview with OSEN, Belift Lab CEO Kim Tae Ho stated that the project plans for the two artists, ILLIT and NewJeans, could not have overlapped on the timeline, making plagiarism impossible.
He explained, "The NewJeans project plan being discussed was shared with Belift Lab in August 2023. Up until then, the team preparing ILLIT at Belift Lab had never seen this document."
He added, "The initial planning documents for ILLIT were completed well before August 2023, when the NewJeans plan was shared. All the keywords that are now being pointed out for their similarities were already decided upon in these initial documents."
According to the CEO, the "Business Strategy Direction" document was produced between April and June 2023, and in July 2023, the "Branding Strategy for New Girl Group," including ILLIT’s brand keywords and identity, was created. The document that is now being raised as similar externally is the September 2023 "New Girl Group Project Plan" document. This document synthesizes the materials created from April to July 2023, and is based on the branding strategy solidified in July, detailing ILLIT’s objectives, target segments, content, business direction, and medium-to-long-term roadmap.
He continued to share, "Some people are also citing Belif Lab's statement from last October, which mentioned that the "strategy and concept were finalized on July 21, 2023," to question if the project plan was prepared before the final lineup for ILLIT was decided on September 1. They argue this implies the program was manipulated, which distorts the essence of the issue and misleads the public who may not understand the idol production process. Countless documents are produced from planning to debut, each playing a different role at various stages of the strategy."
The CEO emphasized that the "concept" for ILLIT was outlined in the "Branding Strategy for New Girl Group" document from July 2023, as previously mentioned. He elaborated, "The ILLIT project plan currently under external scrutiny for similarities is the September version, which includes more than just the 'concept.' This September 2023 'New Girl Group Project Plan' document was created after the branding strategy and concept had already been developed in July, with the debut team being formed on September 1. It was further revised and detailed with strategies for incorporating individual members’ characters and concepts."
CEO Kim Tae Ho also gave an update on the legal actions regarding the plagiarism controversy.
He shared, "Director Min has repeatedly delayed his responses regarding the civil and criminal cases, employing various tactics to postpone the lawsuits. After waiting, we requested a court date this past Tuesday."
He elaborated, "Belift Lab filed a lawsuit against Director Min in June. Although Director Min was aware of the suit, she evaded receiving court documents three times, only finally accepting them about three months after the suit was filed. Even after this, she has not submitted any materials or responses, so last week, to prevent further delays, we requested a 'default judgment' from the court. Director Min’s side then promptly submitted a brief response indicating they are 'reviewing the suit and will respond within six weeks'."
Additionally, another lawsuit was filed this week. He revealed that ILLIT's creative director has filed a suit against Director Min Hee and other former ADOR executives over the plagiarism allegations. Belift Lab CEO Kim Tae Ho concluded, "If Director Min truly believes in her plagiarism claims, we hope she will engage in our lawsuit with sincerity and conviction."
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