New details from the Min Hee Jin vs. HYBE ruling revealed that BTS member V’s messages were accepted as evidence, drawing attention online.
Regarding Min’s claims of plagiarism as a form of breach of trust, the court considered Min Hee Jin’s claim that ILLIT copied NewJeans to be a legitimate expression of opinion. It said the claim referred not to specific factual elements but to the overall impression being similar, which constitutes opinion or value judgment rather than a statement of fact.
During the case, KakaoTalk conversations between V and Min Hee Jin were submitted. In the messages, V reportedly reacted to plagiarism discussions by saying he also thought certain elements looked similar, commenting that he had seen it and felt it appeared alike. This was exacerbated by the fact that HYBE’s chairman, Bang Si Hyuk, had produced ILLIT’s debut album, making the breach between HYBE and Min rather than external vendors and Min.
In the messages, V said,’ There’s always plagiarism talk — it never doesn’t come up… I saw it too and thought, ‘This looks similar.’’
— Sports Kyunghyang report on the matter
While V was not directly involved in the dispute itself, his messages became notable supporting evidence referenced in the decision, highlighting how industry opinions and internal conversations can influence major legal cases. HYBE has appealed the ruling, meaning further developments may follow.
