[Dispatch=Reporter Lee Myung-joo] Former Ador CEO Minhee has been referred to the prosecution.

Seoul Yongsan Police Station referred the former CEO on the 1st on charges of obstruction of business and defamation. She is accused of spreading false information for the purpose of disparaging Belif Lab and others.

She previously raised questions publicly that ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans. She held an emergency press conference in April 2024 and brought the matter to issue.

The former CEO claimed at the time that Belif Lab, ILLIT's agency, imitated NewJeans' production formula. She pointed out similarities in audition posters, hanbok photo shoots, and choreography.

Belif Lab filed a complaint against the former CEO after the press conference. They stated, "It is regrettable that the efforts and achievements of the artists and members have been undervalued due to reckless speculation and false information."

Former Ador Vice CEOs Lee and Shin were also referred on the same charges as the former CEO. In a statement issued under Ador's name, they wrote that "(ILLIT) is copying NewJeans in all areas."

This police referral appears to have taken into account the court's prior judgment. In March of last year, the court ruled on a provisional disposition lawsuit for status preservation of a management company filed by Ador, stating "it is difficult to view the ILLIT concept as plagiarizing NewJeans."

In the principal lawsuit for confirmation of the validity of NewJeans' exclusive contract in October of the same year, the same judgment was reached. The court stated, "It is insufficient to acknowledge that ILLIT replicated NewJeans' concept."

On the 14th, the former CEO distributed a statement through Okay Records regarding this matter. She stated that the referral to the prosecution is not a definitive legal judgment.

The former CEO's side emphasized, "The police referral opinion raised by the plaintiff as grounds for reopening arguments is merely a provisional opinion of the investigative agency, not a prosecutor's indictment or a court's recognition."

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