The CEO of girl group ILLIT's agency dismissed allegations that the group "copied" NewJeans during a parliamentary audit held at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Thursday.

"The allegation [of plagiarism] is false," said Kim Tae-ho, head of Belift Lab and also the Chief Operating Officer of its parent company HYBE. "We have already filed a civil lawsuit against Min Hee-jin, who made such a claim."

Kim appeared as a witness at the audit.


In April, Min Hee-jin, former CEO of ADOR and producer of the girl group NewJeans, accused Belift Lab of copying NewJeans' concept when creating ILLIT. Her accusation came amid the HYBE-ADOR battle that currently still ongoing.

Belift Lab denied the accusation and filed a complaint for obstruction of business and defamation against Min in June.

"We are awaiting the judiciary's decision, and we plan to demonstrate that the plagiarism allegations are false in court by following the proper legal process," Kim said during the audit.

Kim also apologized to K-pop fans for the frustration caused by the ongoing conflicts surrounding HYBE during the audit.



BY WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]