Following Min Hee Jin's claim that HYBE intentionally sent ILLIT to interfere with NewJeans' comeback, JTBC's CP refuted this in an official statement.

Earlier on May 17, the hearing of ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin's application for a preliminary injunction against exercising voting rights filed against HYBE was held at the 50th civil settlement division of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Sang Hoon Kim).

During the interrogation, ADOR's side then claimed that HYBE was intentionally using ILLIT to interfere with NewJeans activities.

Min claimed:

"Although ILLIT's album activities have already ended, they are still appearing on an entertainment program to coincide with NewJeans' comeback."

In particular, on May 24, NewJeans will be dropping its much-awaited EP, "How Sweet," which will feature a same-named title track and a b-sidetrack, "Bubble Gum" which was pre-released in April.

Just then, ILLIT announced its guesting on JTBC's "Knowing Bros" on May 25, just a day after its senior sister group's release.

Fans and netizens considered this "weird" and "too much of a coincidence" since ILLIT already ended their album promotion.

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While it is not unusual for artists under the same label to have overlapping schedules, internet users implied that this is an isolated case since the two groups were obviously being dragged into the conflict.

On the same day, Min Cheol Gi, the CP of JTBC's "Knowing Bros" decided to defend ILLIT and refuted the accusation that the group was intentionally sent to the show to steal the spotlight from NewJeans.

According to Min CP, the recruitment and appearance of entertainment programs usually take place at least two months in advance. ILLIT already discussed its guesting when they debuted in March, but due to conflict from JTBC's side, their date was moved to May 16th and with the local government's decision, their broadcast date was set on the 25th.

Here's JTBC's Knowing Bros' Official Statement:

"In the case of ‘Knowing Bros,’ we often invite guests when there is outdoor filming. In a recent recording held at a camping site in Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do, YG Entertainment's new group BABYMONSTER appeared.

Generally, top stars are filmed according to their activity periods, but since ILLIT is a rookie, the production team did not adjust the activity period. We couldn't get it right. With the understanding of ILLIT, we conducted outdoor recording on Jebudo Island, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do on May 16th.

The broadcast date is the date desired by the local government. Generally, in the case of outdoor filming, the official broadcast is aired on the date specified by the local government that cooperated with the filming, but it is said that Hwaseong City wanted it to be broadcast on May 25th."

Min CP concluded:

"The production team had no idea when NewJeans would make a comeback. The timing is odd due to the conflict between the two sides, but there is no reason for ‘Knowing Bros’ to be caught up in this incident."

READ MORE: K-Media, Industry Experts Break Down ILLIT's Alleged 'Copying' Of NewJeans — Here's What They Said

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Written by Eunice Dela Cruz