Former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin's legal team has rebutted the defamation claims made by Source Music.
On November 7, the 12th Civil Division of the Seoul Western District Court held the fourth hearing in a lawsuit filed by Source Music seeking approximately 500 million KRW (approx. 342,990 USD) in damages against Min Hee Jin.
Source Music argued that Min’s statements at a press conference last year—claiming, “I picked NewJeans” and “The promise to debut them as HYBE’s first girl group wasn’t kept”—were false. The company insisted that it, not Min, cast the NewJeans members and that no promise had been made regarding the first group debut.
Min’s side countered that the context of the statements is crucial. They argued that since July 2019, HYBE and Chairman Bang Si Hyuk had publicly promoted Min as the director of HYBE’s first girl group. According to her team, the NewJeans members joined the N-team project, led by Min, with the expectation—shaped by media reports—that it would be HYBE’s first girl group. “This is documented in the plaintiff’s own reports,” they said.
They further stated that delays in the group’s debut were due to HYBE failing to provide the promised musical concepts on time, and that the decision to debut the S-team before the N-team broke HYBE’s commitment. “The problem began when Chairman Bang failed to uphold his promise,” the statement read.
Regarding disputes over alleged “management rights takeover,” Min’s legal team argued that plagiarism allegations against NewJeans from ILLIT were not raised by their side but emerged organically among users, critics, and journalists. When Min sent internal whistleblowing emails on behalf of the members’ parents, they claimed the response was framed as a “management rights takeover” issue.
On the question of who cast NewJeans, Min’s team emphasized the distinction between selecting members on the streets or signing contracts, as Source Music claims. “Casting here refers to Min’s role in choosing candidates from many applicants, assigning roles, and branding the newly launched girl group,” they explained.
Addressing claims that Source Music neglected NewJeans, Min’s team noted that the statements were from parents, not her, but emphasized that the group was left without updates for over six months—a factual instance of neglect.
Regarding Source Music’s claim that Min called the company a “Thug for selling trainees,” her team clarified: “‘Are you a thug?’ and ‘You are a thug’ are different statements. At the press conference, Min did not call them a thug. Saying ‘they sold trainees’ reflects Source Music’s previous opposition to transferring trainees and their request for ADOR’s equity.”
Finally, Min’s legal team reiterated that neither Chairman Bang nor Source Music made sufficient efforts to debut NewJeans. They addressed Source Music’s evidence of Min’s message, “I also wanted to leave last. The protagonist comes last,” explaining that it reflected her objection to S-team debuting first after being informed by then-CEO Park Ji Won, rather than agreeing with the decision.
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