The third hearing in Source Music’s ₩500 million KRW (approx. $370,000 USD) defamation lawsuit against former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin has been postponed from June 27 to July 18 due to disputes over the admissibility of KakaoTalk messages submitted as evidence.
The lawsuit stems from Min Hee-jin’s April 2023 press conference, where she claimed she personally cast the NewJeans members and that HYBE broke its promise to debut them first. She accused Source Music of favoring LE SSERAFIM and blocking NewJeans’ debut until afterward. Source Music responded that these statements harmed LE SSERAFIM’s reputation and filed for damages.
At the second hearing on May 30, Source Music submitted a 20-minute presentation including Min Hee-jin’s KakaoTalk messages. Her legal team objected, calling the evidence unlawfully obtained, prompting the court to review its admissibility before proceeding.
Min Hee-jin is also facing a separate lawsuit from BELIFT LAB over similar claims that NewJeans was “copied.” Both lawsuits will now move forward with third hearings on July 18. Additionally, in a related injunction case, the Seoul High Court ruled on June 17 that NewJeans members cannot pursue independent activities without ADOR’s approval, unless they pay ₩1 billion KRW per violation.