ILLIT "cheated" to win against BABYMONSTER, fans were extremely disappointed

Recently, ILLIT's management company suddenly announced that Min Hee Jin caused serious damage to the group but has not provided specific evidence. The incident has not yet calmed down, new scandals have found their way to 5 young girls.

Recently, a post on the online community Pann Nate with more than 90 thousand views pointed out the abnormality in the album sales of Kpop gir.l group ILLIT (consisting of 5 members: Yunah, Minju, Moka, Wonhee, Iroha).

Previously, in October 2024, Circle Chart's monthly album sales chart reported that ILLIT's second mini album " I'll Like You" sold a total of 504,363 copies in the month of its release. As of November 27, management company Belift Lab (under HYBE Group) also reported that the mini album sold 582,333 copies (including the regular version and Weverse version), based on Circle Chart's chart.

According to the company, "I'll Like You" took just 10 days to reach the "half a million" mark, since its release on October 21, 2024. But according to the annual album sales chart recently released by Circle Chart, the album only sold a total of 412,040 copies in 2024, down more than 92,000 copies from the sales shown in October 2024.

Audiences suspect that HYBE used the "pre-purchase" method to manipulate ILLIT's album sales, a sales method that many consider a form of "cheatin.g". In simpler terms, companies will provide a certain number of albums to distributors with the condition that they can "return the goods" if the inventory is not sold out.

In particular, this method also allows distributors to import more albums than they need, thereby increasing the number of albums sold in the first week, even if those albums are not actually sold to customers.

In the Kpop industry, first-week album sales are always a notable achievement, and are also an important factor in evaluating the success of a music product and the popularity of an artist. Therefore, groups are said to be in a "race" to achieve the best first-week album sales.

Under the post pointing out the unusual sales of "I'll Like You", Korean audiences expressed their disappointment because not only ILLIT but also HYBE Group's music groups were suspected of manipulating album sales. They felt cheated and disappointed when the truth was revealed. They even expressed their anger that Belift Lab's "chicken" disregarded everything just to beat their chosen opponent, BABYMONSTER.

Previously, the legal battle between Belift Lab (a subsidiary of HYBE Group) and former CEO of ADOR, Min Hee Jin, continued to attract attention as both sides presented their arguments. During the first hearing of Belift Lab's lawsuit at the Seoul Western District Court on January 10, 2025, ILLIT's management company stated that the actions of "mother" NewJeans had caused significant financial damage to the group.

In addition, Belift Lab is also demanding 2 billion won in damages, alleging that Min Hee Jin's activities led to a decline in ILLIT's social media followers and album sales. The company even revealed that brands had canceled contracts with the girls as a result. HYBE's subsidiary argued that these events had severely affected their artists' growth and sales.

However, the court noted that Belift Lab’s evidence to support its claims of financial loss was not yet concrete. The judge advised the company to submit more detailed documentation to prove the alleged damages in future proceedings.

News of Belift Lab’s claim for damages has shocked and upset fans. Many have expressed their thoughts and opinions on social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter). On the other hand, NewJeans fans have defended Min Hee Jin against Belift Lab’s accusations.

ILLIT vỗ mặt NewJeans, làm căng nếu không xin lỗi, sẵn sàng đối đầu BABYMONSTER? Hướng Dương14:31:56 09/10/2024Giữa lúc cuộc chiến với HYBE còn chưa có hồi kết, NewJeans bất ngờ bị phía ILLIT soạn sớ dài kể tội và yêu cầu xin lỗi nhóm. Lục đục nội bộ nhà ông lớn khiến dân tình không khỏi ngán ngẩm.