A question typed into a private chat has, eight months later, become the centerpiece of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit. BELIFT LAB, the company behind ILLIT, says Min Hee-jin — the former ADOR chief who built NewJeans — asked the group's own members whether she should "scold ILLIT," a message the agency presented as core evidence at Friday's closing hearing on September 11. The session, held at a district court on Seoul's west side, wrapped up in under an hour, clocking in at 55 minutes according to Korea JoongAng Daily's account.
A verdict is still two months away, but the timing doesn't favor BELIFT LAB. Seven months earlier, a different South Korean court had already backed much of what Min argued publicly about how closely the two girl groups resembled each other — a finding the judges weighing the defamation claim now cannot simply ignore.
