Netizens discuss the stupidity of HYBE and Belift Lab for blatantly copying NewJeans and having no creativity

 [theqoo - hot] Thought NewJeans was back, ILLIT's year-end stage is back in the spotlight... Aftermath of HYBE's defeat?

date: 15/02/2026

https://m.entertain.naver.com/home/article/144/0001097771

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↓NewJeans

↓ILLIT

↓ILLIT / NewJeans 

The court stated, "If you look at ILLIT's performance immediately after their debut, there are some aspects that are similar to NewJeans." << Court Official 

original source

COMMENTS

1. I’m not a fan of any girl group, but objectively HYBE is stupid. NewJeans had a unique, standout colour and they would’ve continued doing well. No matter how much they push ILLIT, they just don’t have the same level of ability and will never reach even half of that. What’s the point of running an entertainment company if you can’t tell which artists will make it and which won’t?

2. HYBE come to your senses, you piece of trashㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

3. The NewJeans stage is much better. As a muggle, I always watch NewJeans when I'm flipping through channels. 

4. It would be okay if there were just a few, but there are too many, so it was a bit off. But I couldn't say anything because I would get cursed if I talked about it.

5. No, they matched each member's outfits with that style and matched the colours, and more than anything, the graphic in the back isㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Even though I'm not a NJ fan, I can tell that it's a NewJeans graphic.... The style concept that ILLIT was originally pushing wasn't that nuance, but after the incident, they started using that style a lot, so it felt like they were seriously gloating and rubbing it in.

6. When NewJeans were being mocked before with all those “they invented everything” jokes, people were sarcastic and ridiculing them nonstop. But now it’s “the artists did nothing wrong”? Even a passing dog would laugh at that.

7. If a company uses their own artists as a tool to attack other artists, it’s normal to be mad at the company but instead they bash the supposed victims rather than the company. Just keyboard fans and company stans.

8. I honestly don’t have a great eye for these things and don’t know girl groups that well, so at first I didn’t get why people were saying they were similar. But around the time NewJeans filed the lawsuit, the stages and concepts felt so similar that it was surprising.

9. It wasn't just a rumour from the beginning, but after NewJeans became active and the public opinion was dominated by the HYBE-roaches, it seemed like they copied very blatantly. I didn't even know it was like that.

10. I really felt like the end of the year stage was too similar ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ The HYBE roaches were the ones who made me shut my mouth.

11. They're copying them so blatantly, it's shameless

12. So, while it might happen once or twice, it's not the only time it's been raised, so it's a persistent issue. And HYBE's response doesn't seem to be helping ILLIT at all. A recent Gallup poll showed NewJeans still at the top, but it seems public opinion hasn't changed. Instead, there are groups that are pressuring and manipulating public opinion.

13. After NewJeans stopped their activities, they started copying them openly ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

14. After the Belift lawsuit, the blatant copying seems like a childish fight, and I feel bad for the ILLIT kids. In the adults' fights, only the kids, whether it's NewJeans or ILLIT die.

15. Anyone can see that it's similar, just how wronged and upset must the other party would have been?

16. NewJeans, please come back soon

17. Belift Lab is just insanely dumb… Anyway, after NewJeans lost the lawsuit and ILLIT took on the “victim” role, they should’ve used that opportunity to clearly show how NewJeans and ILLIT are different so people could think, “Oh, it really was an unfair accusation.” But they still keep following NewJeans’ style… so it just feels like it was all about silencing things. Even if NewJeans might’ve taken their contract lightly, I still thought, “ILLIT did copy NewJeans though.” It honestly makes me wonder if they even do any real planning over there.

18. It’s so weird how public opinion swings completely depending on who wins a lawsuit. Before, people harshly criticized the plagiarism claims as baseless, and now they’re defending NewJeans again. I just miss NewJeans.

19. They do feel similar… NewJeans takes references from different generations and even different industries, refines them, and presents them in a polished way. Meanwhile, ILLIT feels like they’re just taking a lot from groups under the same parent company in the same generation without much thought.

20. Honestly, people were attacking so hard that no one could even say anything but even as a regular person who doesn’t really know idols and doesn’t have a trained eye, it looked way too similar to me.