Jakarta, hitclubapk3 Indonesia
—
The Belift Lab agency filed a lawsuit against Team Bunnies, a K-pop girl group fan group
NewJeans
, for allegedly defaming their girl group,
ILLIT
.
The lawsuit was filed with the Seoul Western District Court on December 15, Belift Lab said Team Bunnies operators continuously spread false claims ILLIT plagiarized NewJeans and caused reputational and financial losses.
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
Korea Herald
on Monday (15/12) reported that the label was demanding compensation of 100 million won or the equivalent of Rp. 1.13 billion (1 won=Rp. 11.31).
Belift Lab also took issue with Team Bunnies’ alleged acquisition and online disclosure of confidential ILLIT internal planning documents.
Additionally, the label noted Team Bunnies filed a criminal complaint in November 2024 against Belift Lab executives after the company publicly denied accusations of plagiarism.
[Gambas:hitclubapk3 Video]
ILLIT was formed by Belift Lab through the South Korean reality show R U Next?(2023) and debuted in 2024. The group debuted with members Yunah, Minju, Moka, Wonhee, and Iroha.
Meanwhile, NewJeans was formed by ADOR, another subsidiary under HYBE, and debuted in 2022. The girl group has five members, namely Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein.
NewJeans was in the news last year after its five members unilaterally terminated their contracts with Ador in November 2024, leading to a year-long legal dispute.
Haerin and Hyein announced their return through ADOR’s joint official statement in November, while Minji, Hanni, and Danielle made their announcements separately through their legal advisors.
Team Bunnies rose to prominence during the height of tensions between NewJeans and Ador.This group of fans quickly established themselves as some of the most vocal supporters of NewJeans during the dispute.
Team Bunnies also organized a large-scale support campaign for NewJeans, including public advertising and promotional events.
However, the group has since faced increasing criticism regarding the transparency of its financial activities, as concerns have emerged about the intentions and use of the funds raised.
Despite the controversy, Team Bunnies describes itself as a collective of professionals from various fields, such as law, media, finance, culture, and the arts, who are united in their support for NewJeans.
In October 2025, the group’s operator was revealed to be a minor when a Team Bunnies affiliate was referred to the juvenile division of the Seoul Family Court in July for violating the Law on the Collection and Use of Donations.
The operator had posted a fundraising bank account on social media in October 2024, claiming the funds would be used to file complaints against malicious online posts targeting NewJeans.
More than 50 million won was reportedly collected within eight hours.
Under South Korean law, organizations must register with local authorities when collecting donations of more than 10 million won.
Belift Lab said it has filed a civil lawsuit against the operator of Team Bunnies and the operator’s parent company.
(chri)
