On August 22, the third trial session for the ₩500 million (approx. $360,000 USD) damages lawsuit filed by Source Music against Min Hee-jin was held.
Previously, during the second session in May, the two sides clashed over the legality of collecting KakaoTalk messages. Min’s legal team argued that the messages were illegally obtained and should not be admissible. In response, Source Music countered that the evidence was lawfully collected, stating, “Even if emails or messages were exchanged, if it was done on company devices, it is not considered private. She read out and criticized similar KakaoTalk messages during her press conference. When unfavorable content emerged, she suddenly demanded restrictions. That’s unfair.”
The court ruled in favor of admitting the evidence, explaining, “The issue was whether the KakaoTalk messages could be considered legally admissible. Considering that the KakaoTalk account manager provided the password under specific circumstances, it is difficult to conclude this violates the Communication Secrets Protection Act. Therefore, the messages are admitted as evidence.”
Regarding the procedure, the court also stated, “There is no need for a public presentation (PT). However, since public trials are the principle, we will proceed with oral arguments in an open trial.”
This lawsuit is one of several legal entanglements between Min Hee-jin and her former affiliates under HYBE. In the midst of her public feud with the company, Min had claimed that she personally discovered and developed the members of NewJeans and accused HYBE of breaking promises to debut them as “HYBE’s first girl group.”
Her statements also referenced LE SSERAFIM members by name, prompting Source Music—a HYBE subsidiary and the agency behind LE SSERAFIM—to file this damages suit. The next hearing has been scheduled for November 7.
Sources: Daum
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