Belift Lab CEO Kim Tae-ho, who also serves as Hybe’s chief operating officer, has refuted allegations that his company's rookie girl group Illit plagiarized NewJeans' concept.
"It is not true that Belift Lab plagiarized NewJeans. As the CEO of Belift Lab, I would like to state that we have filed a civil lawsuit and pressed charges against former Ador CEO Min Hee-jin regarding this issue,” Kim said during a National Assembly audit on Thursday. “We are awaiting the judiciary’s judgment.”
In May, Belift Lab, a subsidiary of Hybe along with Ador, sued Min for obstruction of business and defamation. The lawsuit stemmed from Min's claim that Illit had copied NewJeans’ style following Illit’s debut in March.
Kim also dismissed allegations that Hybe manipulated music charts by pressuring local distributors to bulk-purchase its artists' newly released albums to inflate first-week sales.
Rep. Min Hyung-bae of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea accused Hybe of using two tactics to artificially boost album sales: Selling albums under the condition that their returns would be allowed and incentivizing purchases through fan sign events.
Kim denied these accusations, saying, "We have never sold albums under such conditions. An external audit found that less than a few percent of albums were sold under contracts that allowed returns. However, this volume was not significant enough to disrupt the market or impact sales."
Kim added that Hybe will not employ such sales methods going forward.
Kim also expressed deep regret to K-pop fans for causing the public fatigue with the recent controversies related to Hybe.
“We are committed to ensuring such issues do not recur. As an entertainment company, our mission is to bring joy to fans and the public, and it is unfortunate that we have instead caused disappointment. I sincerely apologize for the distress and will work hard to prevent this from happening again," Kim said in his closing remarks.
