(ATTN: UPDATES with statement from Min's lawyer in last 3 paras)
SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Yonhap) -- Police have referred former ADOR chief executive Min Hee-jin to the prosecution for allegedly defaming the agency of K-pop girl group Illit, sources said Wednesday.
Min is accused of defamation over her remarks during a press conference in April 2024 that Illit plagiarized NewJeans, a girl group produced by her. Belift Lab, Illit's agency, filed a complaint against Min the following month.
The Seoul Yongsan Police Station sent the case to the prosecution on Oct. 1, recommending charges of defamation and obstruction of business against Min, according to the sources.
It accused Min of spreading false information to slander Belift Lab and its parent company, Hybe.
The move comes after a court said it was difficult to view Illit as plagiarizing NewJeans in March 2025 when it granted an injunction sought by ADOR to ban its members' independent activities.
NewJeans' members had previously been embroiled in a dispute with ADOR, after Min was removed from her post in 2024 amid tensions with the label's parent company, Hybe.
Former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin (Yonhap)
In a statement on Wednesday, Min's lawyer criticized the police referral, arguing that it contradicted earlier investigative and court findings.
"The same police station previously decided not to refer a case filed by Hybe to the prosecution, judging the issues raised by the defendant to be 'a management duty based on creative ethics,'" the statement noted.
"Compared with that decision, the current recommendation to refer part of the case raises questions about its objective validity, as it runs counter to the past judgment of the investigative authorities and a related civil ruling," it added.