Fans are likely aware of the recent court ruling in favor of Min Hee Jin in the years-long lawsuit with HYBE. In the ruling, the court rejected HYBE’s claims and ordered HYBE to pay Min approximately 25.5 billion won. Notably, the court also determined that Min’s statement accusing ILLIT of copying NewJeans constituted a legitimate expression of opinion.
If this messy lawsuit had only involved Min Hee Jin, HYBE, ADOR, or NewJeans, ARMYs probably would not have paid much attention. But no—Min Hee Jin dragged V into the situation, even submitting a private KakaoTalk message with V as evidence in court without his consent.
When the message was revealed, public opinion immediately turned against V, accusing him of supporting Min Hee Jin and opposing HYBE while still being an artist under the company. The controversy intensified because HYBE chairman Bang Si Hyuk was the producer of ILLIT’s debut album. At the same time, Bang had guided BTS from their early debut days and maintained a close relationship with the members. Antifans seized the opportunity, and HYBE supporters attacked V for several days.
However, ARMYs felt it was extremely unfair, believing that V was also a victim of Min Hee Jin, who exploited him without his knowledge. One fan wrote: “There is absolutely nothing he said wrong, plagiarism accusations are indeed common in the kpop industry & community, not all of them are legit tho, her malicious a** dragging his vague comment to twist & use in her context where she's argueing didn't really do any defamation or damage to ILLIT is hilarious, this screams desperation.”
The fan also pointed out: “Besides, it's insane how only one article from MHJ's lapdog Lee Seonmyeong reporting this joke came out while Naver is flooding with the KMCA condemning the judge who granted her the last win despite admitting that she attempted tampering coz it makes her crime look easy now.”
More disturbingly, fans further exposed that Min Hee Jin had approached and built a close relationship with V long ago, and that fans had already noticed this two years earlier.
First, Min Hee Jin became close to V by actively participating in his entire solo project, including visual ideas, concepts, and five music videos. From the intro track “Love Me Again” to the title track “Slow Dancing” and ending with “For Us,” it is not difficult to recognize Min Hee Jin’s distinctive style. Not only that, she attended and congratulated V during his music show promotions as if she were his CEO.
Notably, Min Hee Jin’s Instagram only posted photos of two artists: NewJeans and V. The famous CEO also did not hesitate to upload photos with V, proving their close and comfortable relationship. During their collaboration, V showed complete trust in Min Hee Jin and even called her “noona” (a кσяєαn term of endearment) to express their close friendship.
Next, ADOR promoted interactions between V and NewJeans since his first appearance in the “Hype Boy” TikTok dance challenge in August 2023. V and NewJeans dancing to “Hype Boy” together went viral for a long time. Soon after, V promoted his solo title track “Slow Dancing,” and NewJeans also participated in the dance challenge with him.
Another notable point is that during V’s military service, former NewJeans member Danielle revealed that the group and CEO Min Hee Jin visited him in the military. Min Hee Jin and the NewJeans members even had a meal with V - Park Hyungsik và Park Seojoon. V even shared his favorite playlist with the female idols.
It appears that Min Hee Jin had long planned to become close friends with V in order to pull him to her side in her power struggle with HYBE. The fact that she was close only to V among BTS members further highlights the “problematic” nature of this relationship. And the fact that she submitted a private message with V as evidence in court without his knowledge clearly demonstrates the malicious intent of the former ADOR CEO.
However, as V explained: “It was part of a private, everyday conversation that we had with empathy because she was my acquaintance,” and “I have absolutely no intention of taking sides.” BigHit Music also confirmed: “It was a private conversation with an acquaintance, so he simply expressed his sympathy, and it has been confirmed that he did not agree with any specific remarks made by the other party.” As a result, Min Hee Jin’s intentions completely collapsed, and her true nature became even more evident.
