BELIFT LAB Receives NewJeans Planning Proposal and Faces Plagiarism Allegations
‼️ The date ⌜August 28, 2023⌟ is based on BELIFT LAB’s official statement
Most news outlets reported that the informant sent the concept proposal to BELIFT LAB on August 28, 2023, but OSEN alone reported that the informant sent the concept proposal to BELIFT LAB on August 29, 2023.
Below are links to the two OSEN reports.
🔗 BELIFT LAB: “ILLIT Did NOT Plagiarize NewJeans… We Received the Concept Proposal After Our Concept Was Finalized” [Official Statement]
🔗 [Exclusive] BELIFT LAB CEO Speaks Out on Concept Proposal Similarity Allegations… “Completely Different” [Interview Part 1]
As former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin remains in conflict with parent company HYBE following her dismissal as CEO, she is expected to cause significant ripples by presenting evidence of ‘ILLIT plagiarizing NewJeans’ in the legal battle over the injunction for her reinstatement as CEO.
On the 11th, the 50th Civil Agreement Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Sang-hoon) held a hearing on the injunction filed by former CEO Min against HYBE regarding voting rights and other matters.
At this hearing, former CEO Min’s side revealed through oral arguments that “ILLIT’s creative director requested NewJeans’ concept proposal from the initial planning stages of ILLIT, and ILLIT’s concept proposal is exactly the same as NewJeans’ concept proposal.” Former CEO Min’s side stated that the informant is an internal HYBE employee.
The materials submitted by former CEO Min to the court that day contained text messages and call transcripts from the internal HYBE informant. The informant sent a text message to an ADOR representative saying, “I would like to speak with you about the similarities between ILLIT and NewJeans.” In the call transcript, the informant said, “I shared the NewJeans concept proposal with a HYBE representative who was struggling with planning, but I never imagined this would happen. I never imagined they would make it exactly the same.” When asked whether BELIFT LAB’s creative director requested the document to be shared, the informant answered, “Yes, that’s correct.”
The informant added, “Watching BELIFT LAB release videos and such (to refute the NewJeans plagiarism allegations), it seems like all the same materials have been submitted to the court, and I felt very uncomfortable thinking ‘They’ve seen all of this and referenced it, so why do they keep denying it?’”
Former CEO Min’s side argued, “The informant originally delivered the NewJeans concept proposal created by former CEO Min to BELIFT LAB, and came forward with this tip because the content was too similar to ILLIT’s concept proposal,” and “We raised internal concerns about ‘ILLIT copying NewJeans’ on April 3rd, and objective evidence has now clearly demonstrated that these concerns were justified.”
Allegations that ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans have recently reignited. On the 11th, at the hearing for the injunction lawsuit seeking former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin’s reinstatement, held before the 50th Civil Agreement Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Sang-hoon), new evidence was submitted supporting former CEO Min’s claims that ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans’ concept proposal. In these materials, the informant stated that ILLIT’s creative director requested NewJeans’ concept proposal from the initial planning stages of ILLIT, and that ILLIT’s concept proposal is exactly the same as NewJeans’. On the same day, BELIFT LAB strongly refuted this, stating, “ILLIT’s branding strategy and concept were finalized and shared internally on July 21 of last year. The informant sent the so-called ‘concept proposal’ on August 28 of last year, after that date, so it could not have influenced ILLIT’s concept timing-wise.”
However, BELIFT LAB’s rebuttal raises questions. ILLIT debuted through JTBC’s idol survival show “R U Next?”, which aired its finale on September 1 of last year. According to BELIFT LAB’s explanation, the team’s branding strategy and concept were finalized before the debut members were even decided, which does not align with standard industry procedures for idol group debuts. If that’s not the case, it would mean the members had already been decided before the finale aired.
This also contradicts the timing of the explanation given by BELIFT LAB Deputy CEO Choi Yoon-hyuk back in June. ILLIT had been under scrutiny for NewJeans plagiarism allegations in various aspects including choreography since shortly after their debut in March this year. Deputy CEO Choi stated, “The debut lineup was confirmed on September 1 (of last year), and we began group brand planning from that point, and that’s when we created the ‘brand strategy girl group concept proposal,’” partially revealing the concept proposal. This clearly contradicts the internal sharing timeline that BELIFT LAB announced this time.
