This non-profit video exclusively features footage intended 
to convey the stance of ADOR President Min Hee Jin and BELIFT LAB. Dear artists, fellow creators, and fans, 
please understand that the use of other artists' videos was inevitable 
to articulate our stance and dispute the allegations of plagiarism. September 1, 2023, ILLIT's Formation.
March 25, 2024, ILLIT's Debut. Views: ILLIT entered the US Billboard Chart
just eight days after their debut
[ILLIT Enters US Billboard Chart Eight Days After Debut]
[Source: YouTube - MBC News]. ILLIT transcended the barriers
of the US music market at once
[ILLIT Instantly Transcended the Billboard Main Chart Entry Barrier]
[Source: YouTube - SBS News]. ILLIT debuted on March 25th
and received numerous congratulations. They topped various music charts
immediately upon their debut. We're grateful for coming in first place.

Although unexpected, the group entered ILLIT Ranks on US Billboard Global Song Chart Nine Weeks Straight, ILLIT, First K-pop Girl Group to Enter 'Billboard Hot 100' Upon Debut, both Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200, ILLIT's Worldwide Fame: Seven Weeks on the US Billboard Chart, ILLIT's 'Magnetic' Magnetizes Key US Billboard Charts for Eight Weeks. Their debut album saw unprecedented success. They deserved a celebration, but instead, they mostly faced criticism.
[April 25, 2024, Min Hee Jin's Press Conference]. [April 25, 2024, Min Hee Jin's Press Conference]. This will disadvantage everyone, including ILLIT. All I want is fair competition. But why copy us? It's like, why bother trying something new when you can copy what has worked before?
Hello, this is Min Hee Jin. I officially express my stance regarding ILLIT's plagiarism of NewJeans.

Soon, we'll see copycat NewJeans everywhere.
[“ILLIT is copying NewJeans in every way.]
[“Labelled as NewJeans' Derivative.] [“The Retaliation Was to Cover Up Plagiarism,
Insists Min Hee Jin, 'Mother' of NewJeans.] [“Min Hee Jin Can't Take 'Copycat NewJeans' ILLIT Anymore:
'I'm just here to serve justice'.] [“ADOR Exposes 'ILLIT's Plagiarism of NewJeans.
HYBE Only Offers Excuses.] I didn't blow the whistle for money. Why would I?
I can effortlessly earn 100 billion won. So why in the world
would I blow the whistle? For what? I'm not condemning ILLIT. They're just innocent girls. The grown ups are the problem. I'm Choe Yunhyeok,
the Vice President of BELIFT LAB. I'm Kim Tae Ho,
the President of BELIFT LAB.

I'm the so-called ILLIT's producer. If she sincerely thought that the girls were innocent, she would've avoided bringing them up when it was not called for. But her doing so is practically encouraging and instigating her supporters and idol fans who agree with her to criticize and badmouth ILLIT. [NewJeans' image was stolen by a derivative at the hands of HYBE and BELIFT LAB.] Eventually, she got her wish [to which ADOR and NewJeans fell victim to.] [April 22, 2024, Min Hee Jin's Official Statement] That was... cruel of her. It's unfair to frame ILLIT's record-breaking achievement as plagiarism and emulation through such witch-hunt-like allegations. I thought she'd know better being a veteran in this industry. That was why her statement put me in shock. The fact that this unprecedented incident stemmed from her tall tales all to satisfy her selfish desires makes it very difficult to forgive her.

[March 25, 2024, ILLIT's Debut]
[April 3, 2024, An Email That Started It All]. ADOR sent this email on April 3rd.
[April 3, 2024, An Email That Started It All]. Look at the title.
“Infringement Issue of NewJeans' Brand. And the parents of NewJeans members
were all looped in. She insists that from our marketing
to the way ILLIT makes their appearances, the production processes,
and even the transcription of credits, we completely copied NewJeans. Here you can see four files attached that allegedly insist
ILLIT's infringement of NewJeans' brand. We've reviewed the details and most were captured images from posts.
[The backlash against ILLIT went viral,
criticizing their concept photo image, long straight hairdo,
and composition for resembling NewJeans].

on social media YouTube, and fan communities. Huh? Aren't they NewJeans?
[“New Copycat Twin Concept of NewJeans]
[Source: YouTube Fact Kim] The more I look at them, the closer they resemble NewJeans.
[“New Copycat Twin Concept of NewJeans] Upon ILLIT's photo release
[Source: YouTube GTV], netizens condemned the group for their twin-like resemblance to NewJeans. It's common for new groups to emulate their seniors' success with specific concepts. Min Hee Jin, who created NewJeans, saw similarities with her work and started to claim that we copied her. But unfortunately for her, that isn't the case at all. No investor in their right mind would create a “copycat artist when billions of Korean won are at stake. It simply doesn't make sense that our debut plans had a copycat NewJeans in mind. We replied to her email. She claimed that you never did.

It probably means she did not receive
the kind of response she wanted. What was HYBE's response
to the whistleblowing on the issue? They paid me back with an abrupt inspection. There was no reply. Instead, they just barged in. [BELIFT LAB President Kim Tae Ho merely sent me
a formal three-line reply with no substance instead of a response.] [May 24, 2024, From Min Hee Jin's court documents to be filed.] [Dear ADOR President Min Hee Jin,
Your email has been well received.
Our company will prepare a response to your claims.] [As this is a rather sudden request and not a light matter,
we will reply upon a thorough and prudent review, which may take time.
Thank you for your understanding in advance.] [We are preparing a response to your email last week.
As the artists' parents will be looped in, we are preparing our response
most carefully, reviewing each step, which has resulted in a delay.]

[We voice our stance in response to one of your claims we received on April 3rd. You stated that 'SUPER REAL ME' resembles NewJeans musically, visually, and choreography-wise.]

“While there are criticisms that claim they look similar, there are just as many rebuttals arguing otherwise. 

[April 16, 2024, Reply sent from BELIFT LAB to ADOR] “We have never brought up or benchmarked NewJeans in marketing activities, distribution of press releases, production of content, or any other elements. That's the reply I sent. We suggested to provide the data from all cloud services, laptops, emails, and the in-house messenger we use in BELIFT LAB. And this suggestion was made voluntarily. Upon reviewing them, we found not a single piece of evidence of us bringing up NewJeans or referencing their work. That was why HYBE could firmly state that none of ADOR's claims were facts. [“Before responding to the issue raised by your company, we have reviewed all documents created in BELIFT LAB and found no factual evidence of having imitated NewJeans.]

[April 22, 2024, Reply sent from HYBE to ADOR]

There was one relevant phrase, “Not NewJeans. Our debut group was decided on September 1st. Afterward, we initiated the group brand planning, and that phrase originated from the “Girl Group Brand Strategy Proposal. “How do we find our own unique positioning? Here you'll see, “Not NewJeans. We actually emphasized “Not New Jeans in our document. [NOT NewJeans] [NOT BLACKPINK] [NOT IVE]. That's because the three groups' howling success would most likely overshadow our debut group. [NOT NewJeans: Teenagers, materialization of grown ups' dreams]. [NOT BLACKPINK: Untouchable, perfect celebrities]. [NOT IVE: Beautiful princesses admired by all] [SUPER (REAL) ME]. [Not ideal girls conjured up by adults, but girls who love and embrace the imperfections of today]. Never in my life did I hear such nonsense that leaves me speechless.

as her claims that we stole the idea
of “long, straight hair. I've never ever heard of hairstyle
being a target of plagiarism. NewJeans isn't the one and only group with
a clean, lively, and pure concept. Many other groups in the same segment
share the same concept. Does that mean
we plagiarized all those groups? Is she saying we copied all of them? You simply cannot make such claims. I'll tell you why ILLIT is problematic. I'm not saying
long, straight hair itself is plagiarism. But the problem is, their production formula
resembles ours a little too much. Even if one group follows
another group's so-called routine, nobody accuses another of
“copying their formula. I rather wish
there was an existing production formula that would streamline
our company's operations. If there were such things, producers would follow Beatles' formula or BTS' formula with guaranteed success. I believe she created such a term to make up for the lack of evidence
of ILLIT's plagiarism.

NewJeans do not portray themselves as average teenagers. From what I saw, they were a group popular among the generation that felt nostalgia for the 90s and the Y2K. In contrast, when we produced ILLIT, we intended to make them more approachable, lovable, and lively. I believe this intention is what sets the two groups' characteristics and goals apart. [May 24, 2024, From Min Hee Jin's court documents to be filed] Actually, it was at court when we first saw the photos that were used to accuse us of plagiarism. [The similarity between ILLIT and NewJeans was seen in the concept photo before releasing the debut album] during a court hearing. [No originality at all]. [They do resemble NewJeans]. [Total copycats]. [They're both just groups of five]. [They're so NewJeans]. We once did a pictorial for a fashion magazine called “ELLE.

and that's where those photos are from. Everyone knows that ELLE makes the decisions, not us. We didn't decide on the concept either. She used irrelevant photos to claim that our concept photos resemble those of NewJeans. There is no factual ground for her claim. Our concept photos consist of two versions [Lee Gajun] the SUPER version and the REAL version. The SUPER version highlights the goofiness and liveliness of teenage girls exploring what kind of dreams and imaginations they might have. That's why they're buried in a pool of dolls and play around on an animal-shaped clouds. This concept reflected the actual opinions of ILLIT members. REAL ME portrays the real images of these girls who think of such cute imaginations before their sleep. We tried to bring out their natural look. Back then, the members were true to themselves like typical teenage girls. They ran excitedly together, ate tasty food and chattered around. We tried our best to showcase their candid sides.

Their styling concept mainly aimed to inspire teenagers to follow suit. That's why we featured the cool princess style and lacy looks. The girlcore fashion was in for a while. [Heo Seryeon / Visual Director] We reinterpreted the trend of balloon skirts or outfits a princess would wear in a cutesy style. [Source: YouTube - idol studio] We showcased a blend of cute items and cool street-style items such as sneakers or walkers. The fashion industry called it the “ILLIT-core, complimenting the group's originality in the reinterpreted style. We'll have to see the SUPER and REAL versions together to fully understand the message ILLIT intended to convey through their debut album. ILLIT's whole concept is being criticized simply because some photos from one of the concepts resembled another group's. I think that's unfair. So many of Korea's top renowned experts partook in this concept development. It was hard for us to take in the fact that the group is being framed as a mere derivative instigated by one single person.

There is no set standard for emulation, and no particular person who makes such standards. What is the standard for emulation anyway? Why did you use our choreography without our permission? [April 25, 2024, Min Hee Jin's Press Conference] I really want to know. Why did you steal our choreography, BELIFT LAB? Those are our main dance moves. Our choreographers are seething with anger. [She has a right to be furious.] [Source: YouTube - Walkie Talkie] [They're like twins.] [“Easy and “Attention are the same!] [Noise Marketing] [Same choreographer, same agency.] [They're like NewJeans' double.] [NewJeans with different members.] [Plagiarizing singer, plagiarizing director.] [We need an explanation from ILLIT.] [They're just a mix-match of famous groups.] [According to President Min Hee Jin, she didn't agree to this.] [LOL Who made the choreography?] [The members are innocent, but the choreography is...]

[It could be a respectful homage to their agency seniors.]
[They're just innocent girls. The grown-ups are the problem.]
[Creativity is extinct.] Hello, I'm Myeong Sangwoo, the Performance Director of ILLIT. In my opinion, it's unreasonable to even bring up plagiarism for this matter. When we request a choreography from tremendously famous choreographers, we provide about ten directions. None of the directions mentioned NewJeans. Most of the controversy stemmed from parts that are so fleeting. The public is enjoying and dancing along to the finger choreography from “Magnetic. It became ILLIT's signature dance move and the core focus of the choreography. If we inspect our choreography as a whole, you'll realize that it feels nothing like that of NewJeans. If you take a look at the allegedly copied dance move, you can see them groove to accentuate the magnetic part, hold it briefly, then let go. That was what I tried to show. [ILLIT] [NewJeans]

This isn't even the highlight,
and it lasts less than two seconds.
[ILLIT] [NewJeans]: I do not see how this is plagiarism. Please consider the broader picture. [ILLIT] [NewJeans]: It's called a kick and step,
and is one of the oldest basic moves. It's one of the first moves you learn
when you enroll at a hip-hop dancing academy. [Source: YouTube - Mihran TV] [Source: YouTube - DXTEEN] [Source: YouTube - SEVENTEEN]: She also claimed
there are similarities between the choreography of ILLIT's “Lucky Girl Syndrome
and NewJeans' “Chicken Dance. We found it ridiculous as we don't reference
other groups' choreographies in ads. [ILLIT] [NewJeans]
[Source: YouTube - mcdonaldkorea] [ILLIT] [NewJeans]: The structure of that choreography
is completely different. The only similarity

is the hand move
where they rub their hands. We do it during a wave while they do it along with dance steps.
[Source: YouTube - mcdonaldkorea] They paired it with dance steps. So they do the hand move with steps while we do it during the chorus coming down on the side along with a wave. [NewJeans] [ILLIT] [NewJeans]
[ILLIT] [ILLIT] [NewJeans]. This hand move serves
as the basics of K-pop choreography for both boy and girl idol groups. It's a basic move
used with all kinds of variations. [GFRIEND] [NewJeans] [IZ*ONE] [NewJeans]
[Source: YouTube - Official IZ*ONE] [IZ*ONE] [NewJeans] [SUNMI] [NewJeans]
[Source: YouTube - STUDIO CHOOM] [SUNMI] [NewJeans]. This basically means
every choreography is a copy of another.

It would be impossible
to create a truly new choreography. The rhythm and footwork are completely different. To insist on plagiarism
just because of a basic hand move is stepping over the line. Hair whip is almost always present
in girl group choreographies, as if it's a must. But with a subtle difference
in how it is expressed, you can make it look
stunningly sexy, beautiful, or pure and clean. We intended a “cool, pretty, and stylish vibe
with the hair whip, along with the following move
where the members nod their heads twice. If you look at the choreography as a whole,
it's contextually different. That's why I don't think
this can be considered plagiarism. If you edit certain choreographies
to make them look similar to others, frankly, the same will go
for many of NewJeans' choreographies. [ILLIT - My World]
[NewJeans - Attention] [Choreography video of Yanis Marshall]
[NewJeans - Attention]

[VIVIZ - BOP BOP!]
[NewJeans - Attention]. [IVE - LOVE DIVE].
[NewJeans - Attention]. Even moves from a Mexican girl group. Jeans can be edited to highlight
the similarity between the two groups. [Jeans] [NewJeans] [TLC] [NewJeans] [NMIXX] [NewJeans] [Jojo Gomez] [NewJeans].
[Source: YouTube - KBS Kpop]. I think their claims are a bit unclear. Do we look at how recently the choreo came out? Is it okay if the choreo is from a boy group? What's acceptable and what isn't? I can't understand how they can accuse us without a clear point of reference. In legal terms,
plagiarism refers to copyright infringement.
[Jeon Eungjun / IP lawyer] or unfair competition deeds defined in Unfair Competition Prevention Act. But if we keenly observe
the facts in this case.

there is no factual evidence
of copyright infringement, meaning there is no substantial similarity
between the two copyrights. From an unfair competition perspective,
the most important sign is whether the act goes against
fair commercial practices or competition. But we very much doubt
whether such a fact can be found in this case. Hence, we believe that no elements
can be concluded as unfair competition. We were the first to appear in a CHANEL event. We thought it'd be unique and fun. Since it was our first appearance
at a luxury brand event, we decided to do our best
and went for it. And wouldn't you know it?
ILLIT did the same. They went to a fashion show of a luxury brand. They are mirroring the overall flow of our formula. I can't help but think of it as intentional. ['Min Hee Jin's Girl Group,' NewJeans
Makes First Official Appearance at Beauty Brand Event] [ILLIT, 'Baby of HYBE' Reveals
Glamorous Pre-debut Schedule]

I'm not sure what production formula actually means, but she seems to be claiming that by attending a famous event before their debut, ILLIT is copying NewJeans. All girl groups seek to collaborate with globally renowned brands. [Choe Yunhyeok / Vice President of BELIFT LAB] That suit their images well. It's a common marketing strategy most girl groups prefer, and that included us as well. We were extremely lucky to have received such an unconventional and rare proposal from Acne Studios. ILLIT's first official appearance at a fashion brand is not what was important to us. [Source: Acne Studios] What was more meaningful to us was that they represented a famous brand and were invited to a Fashion Week before their debut. I think our overall marketing strategy differs from NewJeans. Their promotional strategy kept them veiled from the public until their first official appearance. In contrast, our group was already familiar to the public and was invited to a fashion event as the ambassadors of a brand before debut.

This marketing strategy sets us apart from NewJeans. Also, our debut group was formed through a survival TV show. The public already knew our members' names and appearances before their debut. Even after the show, we promoted them through our platform. Allegations of plagiarism against ILLIT are garnering tremendous attention, and I feel terribly sorry for such unhealthy attention. I think her purpose and intention were clear. That's why she continued her allegations despite the lack of evidence and facts. She insists her creations are originals, and despite suspected emulations in her work, she shifts the blame to others, claiming exclusive originality while framing all subsequent creations as copies. That's Min Hee Jin's longstanding premise on plagiarism accusations. Likewise, GFRIEND had taken a hanbok photo shoot before NewJeans. [GFRIEND] We mentioned countless other holiday hanbok photo shoots [tripleS] [LABOUM] in front of hanoks as examples [PRISTIN] [DIA]

According to her filed court documents, she now claims that the pastel-colored hanbok resembles the color of her group's hanbok. It's absurd to consider color as grounds for plagiarism allegations. I really don't know what to say. If so, we can take NewJeans' video filmed at Geunjeongjeon Hall as an example. The video of BTS taken in front of Geunjeongjeon Hall became an excellent reference. So, can you really say videos that followed were not affected by them? There are many similar examples I want to ask her about. There are many successful examples that came before us, so our creative work stems from the further development of such works. Claiming every creation as her original work doesn't align with the Copyright Act's purpose, which is the cultural development of humanity.

Objectively speaking, she has to be specific about which exact element is her own creation, but her current claim seems excessively broad. The growing attention on ILLIT's alleged plagiarism has led some to believe possible plagiarism by NewJeans. [Source: YouTube - Grupo Jeans Official] [Jeans] [NewJeans] [SPEED] [NewJeans] [Source: YouTube - SPEED] [SPEED] [NewJeans] [OH MY GIRL] [NewJeans] [LE SSERAFIM] [NewJeans] [BLACKPINK] [NewJeans] [ENHYPEN] [NewJeans]. Still, I don't think Min Hee Jin copied Jeans or SPEED. And even if she did reference their work, that doesn't belittle Min Hee Jin's creativity. Garnering attention to the plagiarism issue during the privatization process of ADOR and NewJeans makes me concerned it will end up harming creators in general.

ILLIT has been framed as a derivative
who copied and imitated others. Whether it's a fact or not,
just being called that is unreasonable not only for ILLIT members but also numerous creators
who wholeheartedly put in their efforts, and the staff members at the Label
who worked so hard day and night. In their point of view,
all their hard work is being refuted. Claiming plagiarism based on
just one or two moves in a song will make it difficult for choreographers
to fulfill their creativity going forward. So many experts put their all
into preparing these creations. It was quite disturbing
to see our hard work being discounted just because a few aspects seemed similar. [Members cheerfully engage themselves
in the filming even after sunset.] This has been ILLIT! Thank you! So pretty! Showcasing each and every member of ILLIT 
in the best light was the most important mission for me. What made me feel so sorry and heartbroken
when this issue arose.

and what concerned me the most was the issue overshadowing ILLIT's charms. Guess where we are now! [Source: YouTube - M2] -We're at the debut show studio! Wow! -Yay! [Recording Studio for ILLIT's Title Track Magnetic] -This stage is just for us! -Yeah, it is. I just can't believe it. -Wow. -Wow. -This is totally ILLIT! -Yeah. [ILLIT is amazed at the stage set just for them] [Beautiful memories etched in photos] [LOL] -Let's kill the stage, everyone. -Let's go for it. / -Yeah. Magnetic, fighting. It takes hard work. When I accompany them on set, I realize what they're going through. Well, they should enjoy the stage most of all. [ILLIT WONHEE Sits Out Campus Festival Due to Health Issues] Wanting to avoid the stage out of fear of the audience's responses. [Malicious Comments to Blame? ILLIT WONHEE Sits Out Due to Health Issues]

is an experience our members don't deserve.
[Malicious Comments to Blame?
ILLIT WONHEE Sits Out Due to Health Issues.] An experience our members don't deserve.
[Stop acting like victims, imitation ILLIT!]
[Get out, Copycat NewJeans!] And now, there are malicious comments everywhere.
[Imitation ILLIT!] [Mimicking NewJeans!]
[Even Min Hee Jin agreed they're Copycat NewJeans.] I'm concerned about the malicious comments getting to them.
[Derivative is too nice of a word, they're just copycats.]
[Even Min Hee Jin confirmed they copied NewJeans.] Because they haven't done anything wrong.
[Get out, Fake NewJeans! The real NewJeans will make a comeback!]
[They're practically like a copy machine.] [Just roll back their debut.] [March 25, 2024, ILLIT's Debut.]
[April 25, 2024, Min Hee Jin's Press Conference.]

-Can you please introduce yourself?
-All right.
[May 31, 2024, Min Hee Jin's Second Press Conference] Hello, this is Min Hee Jin.
[May 31, 2024, Min Hee Jin's Second Press Conference] It seems like this issue took a toll
on ILLIT and LE SSERAFIM. Is there anything
you'd like to say to them? Actually, I think that everyone,
including the press, must stop bringing this up
for everyone to be at peace. We must stop talking about this. Continuously bringing this up and asking me
whether I'm hurting them or not will cause more damage. I didn't start this fight. President Min Hee Jin's second press conference
was held not long ago. At the press conference,
she said she no longer wanted to bring up other artists, shifting the blame to the press. She said the press has to stay silent. A lot of thoughts crossed my mind
when I heard that because she had repeatedly claimed.

that ILLIT's existence itself was aimed to
infringe NewJeans' brand. Even after the first press conference, the media is not at fault. It's her own doing. But she feigned innocence and blamed the general public, YouTubers, and journalists for the noise. She inflicted a preemptive attack
and then suddenly called it quits. But how can we stop
what she has already started? Only after she distinguishes
the right from wrong regarding the issue can the victims be at peace. And those who are at fault
must pay for what they did wrong. Only afterward can we hold
further discussions on what to do. [ILLIT's debut mini album SUPER REAL ME is the culmination
of contribution and participation from the following staff members.
BELIFT LAB will spare no effort to restore your honor.]

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