Source Music files 500m won suit against Min Hee-jin; hearing held Friday

A Seoul court resumed hearings Friday in a damages lawsuit filed by Source Music against Min Hee-jin, the former chief executive of Ador.

The 12th Civil Division (Na) of the Seoul Western District Court held a hearing Friday afternoon in the case, in which Source Music is seeking 500 million won ($357,000) in damages from Min.

The lawsuit was filed in January 2025, and arguments had concluded, but the court abruptly reopened proceedings ahead of a scheduled ruling last January. A hearing set for May 15 was postponed after Source Music retained new legal counsel and Min's attorney failed to appear, before arguments resumed June 12.

At the previous hearing, the two sides clashed again. Source Music requested two witnesses, including former CEO So Seong-jin, but Min's legal team rebuffed the request, arguing additional witness examinations were unnecessary. The court denied the witness examinations and instead agreed to accept written statements and affidavits from the two individuals.

Source Music also said it would seek a court order compelling one of the mothers of NewJeans members — the other party in a KakaoTalk exchange — to submit the full chat logs, after Min's side refused to provide a complete record of the messages, citing a lost phone. "If the conversation has been edited, there could be issues with its admissibility as evidence," the label said.

Source Music filed the 500 million won damages suit against Min in July 2024, taking issue with her claims that she had personally scouted the NewJeans members and that Source Music had neglected them.