ILLIT Confirms Commitment to Supporting NewJeans’ Hanni

Belift Lab, the agency representing ILLIT, declared, “We demand an immediate halt to the unfounded efforts to malign our emerging artists with unsubstantiated allegations of plagiarism, as well as ludicrous claims regarding greetings. The manager following ILLIT’s protocol has never made a comment to ‘ignore’ members of NewJeans, and there has been no instance where ILLIT members passed by NewJeans members without offering greetings.”

They further elaborated, “This was validated after a review of CCTV footage and an investigation of both the protocol staff and the artists was conducted at Belift Lab’s request on June 13, prompted by concerns expressed by NewJeans’ parents. The two groups only interacted for approximately five minutes on May 27 at HYBE’s headquarters. The CCTV recordings clearly show ILLIT members exiting the elevator and bowing 90 degrees to greet NewJeans member Hanni before entering.”

They continued, “Upon reviewing the footage with the former representative Min Hee-jin on August 14, her team claimed that the alleged non-greeting occurred after this moment and suggested another video must exist. However, the security firm indicated that further footage could not be retrieved, as the 30-day retention policy for CCTV had already elapsed. Now, Min’s team alleges that HYBE purposely deleted the footage.”

Belift Lab insisted, “Our protocol staff consistently employs honorific language when addressing the artists, hence the suggestion that someone instructed to ‘ignore her’ contradicts verifiable facts. Additionally, even if the footage were lost, CCTV systems do not capture audio, rendering such a claim invalid.”

They noted, “From the outset of this matter, we have instructed that all artists, regardless of label, maintain a respectful demeanor. We have earnestly engaged in the investigation. Nevertheless, despite fulfilling every request for clarification, new assertions lacking factual substantiation have arisen. Given that this issue has even been brought to light during a National Assembly audit, we speculate there may be ulterior motives at play.”

Previously, NewJeans made accusations of workplace bullying at HYBE during a live broadcast last month. Member Hanni alleged that a staff member instructed an artist to “ignore” her in her presence.

Below is the complete statement from Belift Lab:

Hello, this is Belift Lab.

In response to the article released by Daily Sports on October 7, we want to clarify our position.

We strongly demand an immediate cessation of the groundless claims aimed at tarnishing the reputation of our rookie artists, which encompass unproven accusations of plagiarism and now false claims about greetings.

The manager at ILLIT did not utter the phrase “ignore her” towards NewJeans members, nor have ILLIT members ever bypassed NewJeans members without extending greetings.

This assertion was established through the examination of CCTV footage and an inquiry involving both the protocol staff and artists conducted after concerns were raised by NewJeans’ parents on June 13, at Belift Lab’s prompting. The only instance when both groups were present was for about five minutes on May 27 at HYBE headquarters. The footage precisely shows ILLIT members bowing 90 degrees to Hanni as they entered the styling room.

Following our joint review of the footage with former representative Min Hee Jin on August 14, Min’s team newly asserted that the non-greeting incident occurred after this encounter, suggesting the existence of additional footage. However, the security company informed that it’s impossible to retrieve more footage due to the expiration of the 30-day CCTV storage period. Min’s side is now contending that HYBE deliberately deleted the footage.

Our protocol staff consistently uses respectful language with the artists, making the claim that someone said “ignore her” inconsistent with objective reality. Furthermore, even if footage had been deleted, CCTV does not capture audio, making such an assertion untenable.

From the very beginning, we have maintained that all artists, including those from various labels, must behave courteously. We fully cooperated with the investigation. Yet, despite our provision of comprehensive explanations, unfounded new claims continue to emerge. With this issue even being discussed during a National Assembly audit, we suspect there are underlying intentions behind it.

Since the issue was brought to light, Belift Lab has refrained from making comments to protect the staff member involved, who is at a disadvantage compared to renowned artists. However, as baseless claims keep being treated as facts, the affected staff member is experiencing significant frustration and mental distress. The ongoing public discourse over a customary greeting issue, coupled with false claims, places the true victim in this scenario as the vulnerable protocol staff member.

Following the emergence of this matter, we issued two official communications to ADOR in August and September. After NewJeans publicly mentioned the matter during a live broadcast, we sought an apology from the member and ADOR but did not receive a response. Should this issue persist in damaging our company’s, artists’, and staff’s reputations, we will take all necessary measures.

[June 13 – NewJeans raises the issue] Following the written complaint, Belift Lab conducted face-to-face interviews with artists and staff, confirming that the alleged remark was without basis. To ensure transparency, we proactively requested a review of CCTV footage from HYBE, but since the precise date of the incident was unclear, we examined all available footage from May 14 to June 13 according to the movements of the artists within the HYBE building. We determined that the only interaction between ILLIT and NewJeans occurred on May 27, during which ILLIT members bowed 90 degrees to NewJeans as they entered the styling room.

[June 19 – Shared findings with NewJeans’ side] Based on our investigation, we informed ADOR’s new board members and the parents of NewJeans during an in-person meeting that the staff from Belift Lab did not exhibit the behavior or make the statements alleged by NewJeans.

[August 14 – Joint CCTV review with the involved parties] Due to continued concerns from NewJeans, ADOR and Belift Lab consented to review the footage from the May 27 incident with the agreement of both artists. After assessing the footage, ADOR raised a new concern, insisting the incident occurred after the segment shown, prompting another inquiry. However, both parties approached the security company, which confirmed that the CCTV footage had already been purged, making retrieval impossible.

Source: Daum

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