Min Hee-jin, former CEO of ADOR and the creative mind behind the girl group NewJeans, has once again sparked debate—this time by accusing fellow HYBE group ILLIT of copying NewJeans’ hanbok-themed photoshoot and debut style.

During the third hearing of a 2.5 billion KRW civil lawsuit filed by HYBE Labels against Min on July 18 at the Seoul Western District Court, Min’s legal team raised one of the most controversial issues: the striking similarity between hanbok photos of NewJeans and ILLIT.

“At a glance, it’s hard to tell whether they are different groups or the same group,” Min’s side stated. “From color schemes, props, styling, backgrounds, compositions, placement of members, gaze direction, to lighting—everything is alarmingly similar.”

Min’s side also compared the official debut appearances of both groups, claiming that ILLIT mimicked NewJeans’ first public appearance. “NewJeans members officially made their faces known at a Chanel event, and ILLIT mirrored that by making their first appearance at a fashion show. Their hair, makeup, and overall styling were so similar that netizens commented things like, ‘Isn’t this NewJeans?’ or ‘I thought it was a NewJeans post by mistake.’”

The visual identity of ILLIT is also under fire. Min’s representatives claim that ILLIT’s photoshoots and album design closely imitate NewJeans’ retro-inspired concept.

“ILLIT’s logo, pixelated fonts, and single-tone illustrations on white backgrounds reflect the same aesthetics NewJeans is known for.”

Even choreography was highlighted. “ILLIT’s ‘My World’ features the same moves found in NewJeans’ ‘Attention,’ and their ‘Magnetic’ includes the key choreography from NewJeans’ ‘Ditto,’” Min’s team argued.

Min Hee-jin had previously made similar accusations during an explosive press conference in April 2024, where she also revealed internal conflicts with HYBE executives. She claimed that although NewJeans was ADOR’s first girl group, HYBE prioritized LE SSERAFIM’s debut and restricted her team from promoting NewJeans ahead of that.

In response, SOURCE MUSIC (LE SSERAFIM’s agency) filed a 500 million KRW lawsuit for defamation. BELIFT LAB, ILLIT’s agency, followed with a 2 billion KRW damages claim, stating that Min’s accusations harmed the group’s reputation.

As legal battles continue and the court weighs the allegations, the K-pop community is divided—raising larger questions about originality, influence, and creative ownership in the ever-competitive industry.