Amid a great controversy due to the similarities between the two last girl groups under HYBE Corporation, Min Hee Jin and ADOR accuse Bang Si Hyuk and HYBE of copying NewJeans to create their group, ILLIT, with a long and strong message to one of the biggest music companies in Korea.
The subsidiary started saying, “BELIFT LAB, one of HYBE’s labels, debuted the five-member girl group ILLIT in March of this year. After ILLIT’s teaser photos were released, explosive reactions spread online“, detailing all the similarities they and K-Pop fans have found.
In addition, they stated, “HYBE chairman Bang Si Hyuk produced ILLIT’s debut album. The copying of NewJeans by ILLIT was not done independently by BELIFT LAB but also involved HYBE“, which is “mass-producing unoriginality by copying successful cultural content without hesitation“.
ADOR releases a statement – "copying New Jeans' is the cause of conflict".
– "HYBE's president Bang Sihyuk produced ILLIT's debut album. Not only was ILLIT's copy of New Jeans made by the label Belift Lab, but HYBE was also involved.
However, ILLIT summoned NewJeans, who were… pic.twitter.com/djpdoCOqho
— About Music (@AboutMusicYT) April 22, 2024
Finally, ADOR hopes “HYBE and BELIFT LAB may try to dilute the incident from debut by highlighting the differences between NewJeans and ILLIT as ILLIT’s activities increase” and that these companies “face their wrongdoings and contribute to the Korean music industry (…) while respecting the cultural achievements of others“.
