"Is it the Theory of Everything by Min Hee-jin?" (Ailet's side) vs "The industry and the public suspect plagiarism" (Min Hee-jin's side)
The positions of Min Hee-jin, former CEO of Ador, and Belift Lab regarding the plagiarism allegations between the group New Jeans and Ailet have sharply diverged.
The 12th Civil Division of the Seoul Western District Court held the third hearing of the 2 billion won damage compensation lawsuit filed by Belift Lab against Min Hee-jin on the afternoon of the 18th. This hearing was originally scheduled for May but was postponed once due to a request for a change of date from the plaintiff's side.
On this day, both sides presented their arguments by submitting prepared statements in PPT format.
First, Belift Lab stated, "Both teams are girl groups with unique personalities," and raised their voices, saying, "The defendant presented evidence by citing online communities."
They then mentioned the differences between the two teams to refute the plagiarism claims from Min Hee-jin's side. Belift Lab explained, "New Jeans aims for a retro, Y2K style and does not have a separate worldview. However, Ailet has built a separate worldview with princess and magical girl images." They also noted that while Ailet aimed for a pop sound with multiple songwriters, New Jeans' music is hip-hop based.
Belift Lab claimed that Min Hee-jin was already aware that the debut methods of the two teams were different regarding the alleged plagiarism of the group debut planning proposal. In fact, Ailet debuted through the JTBC audition program 'Are You Next,' which ended in September 2023, while New Jeans debuted through typical agency promotions.
Additionally, mentioning the "Theory of Everything by Min Hee-jin," they emphasized that "all choreography consists of individual movements that belong to the public domain and can be freely used. If exclusive use of choreography movements is allowed, it would make all choreography plagiarism claims possible, severely restricting creativity." They viewed the accidental similarities as being exaggerated and distorted into intentional copying.
Belift Lab also referred to materials showing similarities between New Jeans and the girl group GFriend, which is under the Hive label Source Music, and questioned, "Should this be considered plagiarism?" They continued, "Just because there are some overlapping elements, does that mean New Jeans should be seen as a copying group? Similarly, Ailet should not be viewed as having copied New Jeans. This is something Min Hee-jin, who has extensive experience in the industry, would know."
In conclusion, they stated, "If Ailet had copied, they would not have been able to debut while breaking records both domestically and internationally," and criticized the defendant's claims as "false facts."
Following this, Min Hee-jin's side continued their argument. First, they captured various comments from online communities claiming "Ailet seems to have followed New Jeans" to assert the similarities between the two teams. They emphasized that the public and the industry raised the copying issue after Ailet's debut, leading to reactions referred to as the "Min Hee-jin type."
Min Hee-jin's side pointed out that this case is not about defamation but about business interference, stating, "The plaintiff's side is currently trying to frame this as a copyright infringement case using the terms copy and plagiarism, but plagiarism is not copyright infringement. They are obscuring the issues of the case."
They reiterated that there are excessively broad similarities between New Jeans and Ailet that cannot be explained by accidental elements, asserting plagiarism once again.
Previously, Min Hee-jin expressed dissatisfaction with Hive's audit initiation in April of last year, leading to a confrontation. At that time, Hive claimed that Min Hee-jin attempted to seize management rights from the Ador competition team. In response, Min Hee-jin raised objections regarding the unfair treatment of her group New Jeans and built a wall, claiming it was retaliatory behavior. She detailed the unfair experiences New Jeans faced during their debut process, asserting that the main cause was Ailet, a group under Belift Lab, plagiarizing and imitating New Jeans.
She also criticized Source Music for neglecting the members of New Jeans, stating that Hive broke its promise to debut New Jeans as its first girl group and debuted Le Sserafim first instead.
In response, Belift Lab filed a lawsuit in May of the same year against Min Hee-jin for defamation and business interference, seeking damages of around 2 billion won. In July, Source Music filed a damage compensation lawsuit for around 500 million won.
In turn, Min Hee-jin also filed a complaint against Belift Lab's CEO Kim Tae-ho, Vice President Choi Yoon-hyuk, Heo Se-ryeon, and Lee Ga-jun for defamation and false accusations under the Information and Communications Network Act, but the charges were dismissed or not prosecuted due to "no charges."
Meanwhile, the hearing date for the lawsuit between Source Music and Min Hee-jin, which was also scheduled for that day, has been postponed to August 22.
[Ji Seung-hoon, Star Today Reporter]
