Belift Lab has responded to accusations of plagiarizing debut plans for ILLIT from NewJeans, following leaked marketing strategies and concept similarities that raised suspicions.
Belift Lab’s Statement on the Allegations
In an official statement released on November 11, 2024, Belift Lab firmly denied the plagiarism claims. They clarified that their debut plans for ILLIT were finalized well before receiving any materials related to NewJeans.
They claimed that they had already finalized debut plans for the group, including the members, as early as July 21, 2023. A snippet of their debut plan report shows the six members that they had already chosen for ILLIT.
According to Belift Lab, they had received the debut plans for NewJeans as a reference on August 28, 2023. They claimed to have already finished ILLIT’s debut plans by then.
“Allegations that ILLIT’s debut plans were plagiarized from NewJeans are untrue. Branding plans and concepts for ILLIT were already confirmed on July 21, 2023, and it was shared internally. The report that had been provided by the tip-off was received on August 28, 2023, so it cannot be said that it had an influence on ILLIT’s concept.”
– Belift Lab
The company also provided specific dates to support their claims:
- July 21, 2023: ILLIT’s debut plans, including finalized concepts and members, were confirmed.
- August 28, 2023: NewJeans’ debut plans were received by Belift Lab as a reference.
Screenshots of their internal documents were shared to substantiate the timeline, showing that six members of ILLIT had already been chosen before the NewJeans report was received.
Background on the Allegations
The controversy arose after leaked materials showed similarities in marketing phrases, thematic concepts, and PowerPoint designs between ILLIT and NewJeans, leading some to believe that Belift Lab had copied NewJeans’ strategies.
Belift Lab’s clarification aims to refute these claims, emphasizing that their plans for ILLIT were fully developed and internally approved before any reference materials for NewJeans were received.
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Public Reactions
The statement has sparked mixed reactions from netizens, with some expressing skepticism about the timeline and others acknowledging the provided evidence.
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Source: Theqoo
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