On August 22, during the third trial hearing at the Seoul Western District Court’s 12th Civil Division, the court ruled to accept the KakaoTalk conversations filed by Source Music in its 500 million won damages lawsuit against Min Hee-jin.
Min’s legal representatives argued that the messages were illegally obtained without consent and should be dismissed as evidence. However, the court rejected this, noting, “Considering circumstances such as the password being shared by the KakaoTalk account manager, it is difficult to see this as a violation of the Communications Privacy Protection Act.”
The admitted KakaoTalk conversations contain exchanges between Source Music and Min regarding trainee management and the recruitment of future NewJeans members, directly contradicting Min’s past claims.
Previously, Min asserted that she personally discovered and recruited the members of NewJeans. However, all five members—Minji, Hanni, Haerin, Danielle, and Hyein—had already been selected as trainees by Source Music between 2018 and 2021. The group, initially called “N Team,” had been groomed to debut as HYBE’s first girl group.
The KakaoTalk logs also revealed Min telling a shaman: “I want to bring the girl group kids under my label,” and “If I try to take N Team, So Sung-jin (Source Music’s CEO) will go crazy, haha,” as well as “Snatching the girl group.” These statements suggest that Min was fully aware the trainees were selected and being prepared for debut by Source Music.
Min has also claimed that HYBE broke its promise to let NewJeans debut first. Yet another KakaoTalk exchange shows her saying: “My label’s restructuring should take priority, and Source 21 team’s labor costs should be adjusted accordingly.”
Further contradicting her stance, Source Music’s June (of the same year) meeting records for its “Source Girl Group Launch Plan” explicitly stated that NewJeans would debut as HYBE’s first girl group.
Observers suggest that this newly accepted evidence may significantly influence Min’s ongoing legal battles, including the ₩26 billion shareholder contract termination lawsuit with HYBE and her separate dispute with Belift Lab.
Sources: Daum
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