Min Heejin, the CEO who produced the group New Jeans, actively refutes the 'takeover controversy' surrounding the company. CEO Min claimed that the background of the incident stemmed from internal issues caused by the rookie group 'ILLIT' copying New Jeans.
On the 22nd, ADOR officially stated, "To protect our artist, New Jeans, and for the healthy development of the Korean music industry and culture, we publicly address the 'ILLIT's plagiarism of New Jeans,'" they said.
ADOR, a subsidiary label of HYBE and the agency of the group New Jeans, previously initiated an audit, alleging that ADOR was planning a takeover.
"A label under HYBE, BELIFT Lab, debuted the five-member female idol group 'ILLIT' last month," ADOR said. "ILLIT copies New Jeans in all aspects of entertainment activities, including hair, makeup, costumes, choreography, photos, videos, and event appearances."
They continued, "Chairman Bang of HYBE produced ILLIT's debut album, and ILLIT's New Jeans copy is not solely the work of the label BELIFT Lab. HYBE and BELIFT Lab have officially raised concerns about the New Jeans, including this incident, as well as a series of actions taken by HYBE regarding New Jeans. However, they refused to admit their mistakes, hastily made excuses, and postponed giving specific answers," they explained.
"In the midst of this, HYBE suddenly notified that they will suspend and dismiss CEO Min from her duties, citing concerns that she 'significantly damages ADOR's corporate value,'" they said. "At the same time, they are attempting absurd media plays, such as claiming that CEO Min 'attempted a takeover.'"
They pointed out, "It is incomprehensible, in terms of common sense, how legitimate protests to protect the cultural achievements of our artist, New Jeans, could harm ADOR's interests or be considered a takeover attempt."
They emphasized, "ADOR will spare no effort to protect the cultural achievements New Jeans has built and prevent infringements caused by copying."
Meanwhile, CEO Min joined SM Entertainment as an ordinary employee in 2002, leading album projects for famous groups such as Girls' Generation, f(x), and SHINee, rising to the position of executive director. In 2019, Bang Sihyuk recruited her to HYBE, and in 2022, she produced New Jeans.
-ILLIT's members are just kids... it's heartbreaking to see them being used like this. Even if they have a strong mentality, they must be feeling the impactㅠㅠ
-Please stop it, seriously, just give ILLIT a break.
-It's disgusting... bringing these kids into this mess...
-I hope ILLIT does well... It's only been a month since their debut, and when you see them on stage, they don't even look similar to New Jeans... It's just too much.
-How can she have such a good sense of aesthetics and not see the difference? Even if their concepts are similar, the stage concept is completely different.
-I'm sorry, but your stuff isn't new either, it's just a bunch of references.
-Thanks to her, I discovered that ILLIT's songs are good
-Why is she like this? It's pathetic. Especially when she has copied so much herself?
-You copied too, so please stop.
-She copied a lot, too. So, who's pointing fingers at whom now?
-What is she saying? It's not like New Jeans is 100% original with no references?
-If New Jeans also agrees with Min Heejin's claims, it would be really disappointing.
-Seriously, even if your life is falling apart, you shouldn't have dragged New Jeans into this mess. Why didn't you realize that you were making things so difficult for New Jeans?
-Now I feel so sorry for ILLIT....
-You don't have to trash-talk other groups in order to protect your artists, right?
-The more she does this, the worse it is for New Jeans..
-But originally, New Jeans wasn't even the first to come up with their concept... She took references from different places, so why is she acting like she invented it all first?
-That's very cowardly of her. Is she attacking ILLIT to protect New Jeans now???
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