V Responds to Personal Chat Evidence Submission
BTS member V released an official statement regarding his personal messages with former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin being used as evidence in a court lawsuit. On the 20th, V shared a screenshot of a related article through his personal Instagram story and expressed his views.
V explained that the messages were "part of private everyday conversations shared with empathy because she was an acquaintance." He also made clear that "I have no intention of taking sides with either party," while adding that "I am deeply uncomfortable with the fact that the conversation was submitted as evidence without my consent." Through this, V appeared to maintain a neutral stance in the dispute between HYBE and Min Hee-jin while expressing dissatisfaction over the unauthorized disclosure of his personal information.
V-Min Hee-jin Messages Submitted to Court
On the 12th, the Seoul Central District Court's Civil Division 31 issued a ruling on the shareholder contract termination confirmation lawsuit filed by HYBE and the stock purchase price claim lawsuit filed by former CEO Min Hee-jin. The court dismissed HYBE's claims and ordered HYBE to pay approximately 25.5 billion won to Min Hee-jin.
During this lawsuit, Min Hee-jin's side submitted KakaoTalk messages exchanged with V as key evidence, which the court accepted. According to the disclosed message content, V told Min Hee-jin: "(It's always plagiarism talk and it never stops being mentioned) Yeah... that's why. I also looked and thought, 'Oh, this is similar...'" This message was interpreted as suggesting that V directly witnessed similarities between NewJeans and ILELIT's music and concepts.
The court's acceptance of this message as evidence is known to have influenced the court's judgment that ILELIT's plagiarism allegations constitute legitimate opinion rather than baseless claims. The court reportedly determined that Min Hee-jin's allegations of ILELIT plagiarism were well-founded legitimate opinions rather than mere assertions.
Court Criticizes HYBE's Media Play
In this ruling, the court took a strong critical stance against HYBE. Judge Nam In-soo, the presiding judge of Seoul Central District Court's Civil Division 31, stated in the judgment that HYBE first surfaced the conflict and executed preemptive media play. This is being evaluated as the first instance where the judiciary formally raised concerns about HYBE's practices of presenting one-sided claims through media, which have been problematic in the industry.
The court determined that HYBE's claims of "betrayal" by Min Hee-jin's side amounted only to statements that were never actually carried out. Furthermore, the court evaluated that these claims were merely hypothetical scenarios premised on HYBE's consent. Rather, the court ruled that HYBE hastily initiated an audit without sufficient verification and then leaked it to the media, thereby first damaging mutual trust.
The court's pointed remarks are noteworthy in that they represent a judicial judgment on media strategies widely used by entertainment agencies in the industry. The ruling suggests that agency media play could serve as a negative factor in legal disputes going forward.
Significance of the Ruling and Future Impact
This ruling can be seen as putting a complete end to the conflict between HYBE and Min Hee-jin that lasted over a year. HYBE's key arguments were not recognized in court, and instead, they were judged to be the party that damaged trust at the starting point of the dispute.
In particular, the legal recognition of ILELIT's plagiarism allegations regarding NewJeans as legitimate opinion could serve as a reference point in future creative disputes in the music industry. Additionally, the controversy over V's personal message submission is expected to spark discussions about celebrity personal information protection and consent procedures in the process of submitting evidence in lawsuits.
This content is general information compiled based on publicly available materials. Please confirm the exact details through official announcements from relevant organizations.
