In the second hearing of the lawsuit filed by Source Music against former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin, the court witnessed a fierce confrontation regarding the disputed KakaoTalk messages used as evidence.
The 12th Civil Division (B) of the Seoul Western District Court held the second hearing on May 30 for Source Music’s claim seeking approximately 500 million KRW (approximately $375,000) in damages from Min Hee Jin. Both parties’ legal teams were present in court.
The judge initially expressed concerns over proceeding with a closed session on the KakaoTalk evidence requested by Min Hee Jin’s side, stating, “It is difficult to consider criminal punishment, and if the evidence violates confidentiality, it cannot be accepted.” However, the court also acknowledged that it could not entirely block Source Music’s claims and sought to move forward with the hearing.
Source Music attempted to present a 20-minute PowerPoint to explain the case details, but Min Hee Jin’s team objected, arguing that the KakaoTalk messages were illegally obtained and should not be admitted as evidence.
In response, Source Music asserted, “This evidence is not newly revealed. There is no Supreme Court ruling on the illegality of such evidence in civil trials. It is questionable to raise this issue right before the hearing. Correspondence via email is also not excluded as private. The data was collected with prior consent and is different from evidence obtained by secretly taking mobile phones.” Nonetheless, they affirmed their position that “illegally obtained evidence should not be allowed and will be dismissed if illegality is proven.”
Despite the dispute, Source Music insisted on the matter being addressed. The court decided to postpone further proceedings until a decision on the admissibility of the evidence is made. Both parties agreed to this, and the next hearing was scheduled for June 27.
Source Music filed the lawsuit against Min Hee Jin in July 2024, seeking compensation related to damages they allege arose from Min Hee Jin’s claims about the debut of the girl group NewJeans.
Min Hee Jin previously held a press conference criticizing Source Music for neglecting some NewJeans members formerly under their label and questioned why LE SSERAFIM debuted before NewJeans. Source Music strongly denied Min Hee Jin’s allegations, stating, “Min Hee Jin’s claims that Source Music copied her launch strategy are false. Source Music has never copied the launch strategy proposed by Min Hee Jin when she was CBO, nor have we acknowledged her complaints.”
Source Music further clarified, “Chairman Bang Si Hyuk’s suggestion in May 2020 regarding Min Hee Jin’s launch plan was to realize it through a ‘new team’ at a label founded by Min, not the N team. Min Hee Jin is well aware of the discussions but distorts facts by implying the chairman instructed the N team to implement her strategy.”
The company added, “Min Hee Jin continues to spread false information about Source Music. Beyond the ongoing damages lawsuit, we will take strong legal action regarding these falsehoods and are willing to disclose relevant evidence we possess to clarify the truth.”
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