K-Pop Legal Battle: NewJeans vs ILLIT - Accusations of Copying Ignite Fan Fury

Time of India

3 days ago

The K-Pop Feud That Has Everyone Picking Sides
Imagine if two of Bollywood's biggest production houses went to court because one accused the other of copying their movie style. That's exactly what's happening in the K-pop world right now, and it's absolutely wild.
Two girl groups - NewJeans and ILLIT - are at the center of a massive legal battle that's got fans arguing on social media, agencies pointing fingers, and the entire Korean entertainment industry watching with popcorn in hand. The drama started when Min Hee-jin, the creative mastermind behind NewJeans, publicly accused the newer group ILLIT of straight-up copying her work.
Now ILLIT's agency, BELIFT LAB, is suing Min Hee-jin for ₹180 crore (that's about 20 billion Korean won) because they claim she's spreading lies and damaging their reputation.
The court case has turned into a full-blown PowerPoint presentation battle - yes, you read that right - with both sides bringing receipts and evidence to prove their point.
BELIFT LAB Says_ "Everything is Fair Game in K-Pop"
BELIFT LAB's defense is pretty simple: they're basically saying that Min Hee-jin is acting like she invented everything in K-pop. Their argument is that dance moves, photo styles, and marketing strategies belong to everyone in the industry, not just one person.
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Think about it like this - if Shah Rukh Khan claimed he invented the romantic hero pose with arms spread wide, every other Bollywood actor would be in trouble, right? That's exactly what BELIFT LAB is saying about Min Hee-jin's claims.
They brought examples showing that NewJeans' famous "hair whip" dance move appears in songs by other groups like ITZY and aespa. They even said that NewJeans' retro Y2K style and mysterious concept is totally different from ILLIT's magical princess theme - like comparing a vintage Bollywood film to a fantasy adventure movie.
The agency also threw some serious shade by showing that many things NewJeans did "first" were actually done by older groups like GFRIEND years earlier. It's like saying every romantic comedy copies the same basic formula, but that doesn't make them all the same movie.
New Jeans
Min Hee-jin Fights Back_ "The Copying is Too Obvious"
Min Hee-jin's team isn't backing down though. They're saying that ILLIT didn't just copy one or two things - they copied everything from NewJeans' entire vibe.
We're talking about album covers, hairstyles, photoshoot concepts, dance moves, and even the way they promote themselves.
Her lawyers pointed out that as soon as ILLIT debuted, fans on social media immediately started commenting "they look like NewJeans" and "this feels familiar." It's like when a new web series comes out and everyone immediately says it reminds them of another popular show - sometimes the similarities are just too obvious to ignore.
They're also arguing that this isn't about legal copyright (like claiming someone stole your song), but about calling out what they see as blatant copying. It's more like saying "Hey, your new dance looks exactly like mine" rather than "You legally stole my choreography."
The most interesting part? Min Hee-jin's team says she only spoke up because she was being attacked by the bigger company HYBE, and she had to defend herself and her work. It's giving major David vs. Goliath energy.