[theqoo] YOUTUBER WHO CLAIMED “ILLIT IS COPYING NEWJEANS!”, ORDERED TO PAY 15 MILLION WON TO HYBE IN DAMAGE

A YouTuber who raised allegations that HYBE girl group ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans’ choreography has been ordered to pay 15 million won in damages to HYBE (t/n: 9K USD).

According to the legal community on the 7th, in February the Seoul Western District Court (Civil Division 9, Judge Choi Eun-joo) ruled in favor of HYBE in a damages lawsuit filed against YouTuber A. The court found that “A posted the videos without properly verifying whether the claims were true,” and acknowledged liability for defamation against HYBE.

The case dates back to April 2024, when a management dispute broke out between HYBE and Min Heejin, the former CEO of ADOR (a HYBE subsidiary label). According to facts recognized by the court, A uploaded 31 videos criticizing HYBE over a six-month period starting at that time.

A claimed that ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans’ choreography. Both groups belong to HYBE sub-labels, ILLIT under Belift Lab and NewJeans under ADOR. A produced videos showing Min’s press conference statements and comparing the choreography of the two groups, adding captions such as “evidence of plagiarism obtained” and “plagiarism materials.”

A was also found to have posted videos claiming that “ILLIT’s manager told NewJeans’ Hanni to ignore her” and that “HYBE ostracized NewJeans’ Hanni.” In addition, A uploaded videos criticizing ILLIT’s performances, saying things like “they debuted with poor live skills” and “their outfits resemble infantilization.”

HYBE filed a damages lawsuit against A in December 2024, seeking a total of 300 million won.

During the trial, HYBE argued that A defamed the company by stating false claims, including that ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans or ostracized them. HYBE also said A falsely portrayed the company as forcing ILLIT members to perform choreography with an age-inappropriate sexual concept.

A countered that the videos merely expressed opinions about the idol industry as a whole and did not constitute false statements. A also argued that as an individual YouTuber versus a large corporation like HYBE, the videos could not be seen as damaging HYBE’s social reputation.

The first-instance court ruled in HYBE’s favor, determining that A had indeed defamed the company by posting false content.

Regarding the plagiarism allegation videos, the court stated: “The articles submitted by A only confirm that there was controversy over plagiarism disputes, but there is no evidence sufficient to conclude that ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans’ choreography. Nevertheless, A posted the videos without properly verifying the facts.”

The court also cited an October 2024 ruling that upheld the validity of NewJeans’ exclusive contract with ADOR. It noted that “based on the evidence submitted, it is insufficient to recognize that NewJeans member Hanni was told ‘ignore her’ by ILLIT’s manager, and there is no supporting evidence.”

As for the videos criticizing ILLIT’s abilities, the court concluded that they constituted disparagement of HYBE and ILLIT. It added that the videos had between 100,000 and 8 million views, thereby harming HYBE’s reputation and interfering with its business.

However, the court awarded only 15 million won in damages, rather than the 300 million won sought by HYBE.

The court explained that it considered factors such as the content of the videos, frequency and repetition of postings, HYBE’s position in the entertainment industry, and view counts in determining the compensation amount.

The ruling has now been finalized, as neither side appealed the first-instance decision.