What happened?

Seoul's Yongsan Police Station sent former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin to the prosecution on October 1 on charges of obstruction of business and defamation, according to Yonhap News, which reported the case on October 14. Police say she falsely claimed that ILLIT, the girl group from BELIFT LAB, plagiarized NewJeans in order to harm HYBE and BELIFT LAB.

Why are the claims at the center of this case?

In April 2024, Min Hee-jin held an emergency press conference and publicly said ILLIT had copied NewJeans' audition poster, hanbok pictorial concept, debut method and choreography. About a month later, BELIFT LAB issued an official statement saying the unfounded claims had belittled the work of its artists and staff, and filed a complaint with police.

Who else was referred?

Police also sent two former ADOR vice presidents, identified as Lee and Shin, to the prosecution on the same charges on the same day. Police found that a statement ADOR issued three days before the press conference, saying ILLIT had plagiarized NewJeans, also met the criteria for the charges.

What have courts said so far?

In March 2025, a court hearing NewJeans' status-confirmation injunction case said ILLIT's concept was hard to consider plagiarism and that NewJeans' concept was ambiguous as intellectual property. In October 2025, another court ruling in the exclusive contract validity case said some similarities were found in planning documents and pictorials, but there was not enough evidence that ILLIT copied NewJeans' concept.

For international fans

The referral is a step in the investigation, not a verdict. The case now moves to the prosecution service, which will decide whether to indict. ILLIT and NewJeans are both widely followed overseas, so fans may want to watch for official statements from the companies involved.