On February 20, a South Korean media agency attracted attention by reporting on new details collected from the trial file of the lawsuit between HYBE Group and former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin.
According to the file, Min Hee Jin's side submitted KakaoTalk messages exchanged between her and male singer V (Kim Taehyung) of BTS as evidence in court, and the court accepted them as valid evidence showing that there was "an opinion that ILLIT has similarities with NewJeans".
In the message, V said to Min Hee Jin: "There's always plagiarism, it's never been without it. Haizz... That's right. I also watched it and thought "Oh, this looks so much the same".
This message made many people believe that V supported Min Hee Jin's stance on the accusation that "ILLIT copied NewJeans".
After knowing that his KakaoTalk message was submitted to the court as evidence, in the afternoon of the same day, V directly spoke out to explain on Instagram.
He posted a screenshot of the information in the article and said: "That's just part of a casual conversation between me and an acquaintance, when we both expressed sympathy. I also have no intention of agreeing or standing on either side.
The male singer added: "I am really confused when the conversation is used as evidence without my consent.
Immediately after that, BTS's management company - Big Hit Music - also issued a statement: "V's message only shows sympathy in a private conversation, not agreement with any specific statements from Min Hee Jin.
Artists are also dissatisfied when the content of personal exchange is used as a trial document without consensus.
Previously, when she was CEO of ADOR - NewJeans' management company - Min Hee Jin took on the role of general producer for V's debut solo album "Layover" released in 2023, covering many categories of music, dance, design and promotion.
After enlisting, V still keeps in touch with Min Hee Jin. In an interview, Min Hee Jin praised V a lot, calling him a great source of encouragement for her.
Min Hee Jin also revealed that V sent greetings when she went through upheavals at HYBE Corporation. On Min Hee Jin's birthday, V sent congratulatory messages from early morning even though she was in the military.
Meanwhile, Min Hee Jin won the lawsuit surrounding the exercise of the right to sell shares in HYBE Group, after resigning as internal director of ADOR.
The court declared that HYBE must pay a total of about 25.6 billion won for share repurchase, of which about 22.5 billion won will belong to Min Hee Jin.
