On the 12th, the 31st Civil Agreement Division of the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Min Hee Jin in HYBE’s lawsuit seeking confirmation of the termination of the shareholders’ agreement, as well as in the lawsuit filed by former CEO Min Hee Jin against HYBE demanding payment related to the exercise of her put option.

The court dismissed HYBE’s claims and ruled that HYBE must pay Min approximately 25.5 billion won. Notably, the court also determined that Min’s claims that ILLIT copied NewJeans constituted a legitimate expression of opinion. The court stated that the remarks did not refer to specific factual elements but rather reflected an overall impression of similarity, which constitutes a subjective opinion or evaluation rather than a statement of fact.

However, what drew even more public attention was that among the evidence submitted by Min Hee Jin’s side was a KakaoTalk message exchange between V and Min. The idol was reported to have reacted to discussions about plagiarism by saying that he also thought some elements looked similar, commenting that he had seen them and felt they looked alike.

Specifically, the submitted message reportedly read: In the message, V said, "There’s always plagiarism talk — it never doesn’t come up… I saw it too and thought, ‘This looks similar.’"

When this news was revealed, netizens accused V of not being directly involved in the dispute but becoming notable supporting evidence cited in the ruling, highlighting how industry opinions and internal discussions can influence major legal cases. He faced heavy criticism for being perceived as supporting Min Hee Jin and opposing HYBE while still being an artist under the company.

The controversy intensified further because HYBE chairman Bang Si Hyuk produced ILLIT’s debut album. At the same time, Bang is also the person who led BTS from their debut days and maintains a close relationship with the members. Antifans seized the opportunity, and HYBE supporters began attacking V more aggressively on social media.

However, ARMYs felt it was unfair that V was being dragged into a conflict in which he had no involvement. One fan wrote: “There is absolutely nothing he said wrong, plagiarism accusations are indeed common in the kpop industry & community, not all of them are legit tho, her malicious a** dragging his vague comment to twist & use in her context where she's argueing didn't really do any defamation or damage to ILLIT is hilarious, this screams desperation.”

This person also added: “Besides, it's insane how only one article from MHJ's lapdog Lee Seonmyeong reporting this joke came out while Naver is flooding with the KMCA condemning the judge who granted her the last win despite admitting that she attempted tampering coz it makes her crime look easy now.”

Other fans also responded that Min Hee Jin’s side had submitted V’s private messages to the court without his consent. They argued that this action unfairly labeled V as “supporting” Min when he had no knowledge of the matter. Other fan arguments included:

- This exclusive article, not a court document, so it means, this came from mhj herself. She had a contact with that reporter and this tokki.

- I want to see her side of the conversation. I can almost guarantee she pestered him on that. That statement seems almost dismissive.

- As a matter of fact, this conversation was submitted to court without his consent. And I wonder when taehyung's words are law?

- Exactly!! It's just a vague opinion! AN OPINION! How is that a prove? What does it prove? An opinion it's not a fact.

- Nobody cares. Leave Taehyung alone. BTS is coming

- Is anyone even surprised that this woman is leaking private conversations and twisting them to look like support? Please!! She’s the same person who caused a summary military investigation into Tae's phone location during his very first month of service!

- Remember when she claimed, V calls her from the military… and even messaged her on her birthday? She got some K-netizens to file complaints saying he was getting special treatment and using his phone at night. She made the entire Ministry of Defense respond to deny her lies!

Meanwhile, as news about the conversation between V and Min spread rapidly, V became aware of it and immediately expressed his discomfort at the disclosure of the messages without his permission. He shared on his personal Instagram: "These were parts of private, everyday conversations I shared as an acquaintance. I had absolutely no intention of taking one side over the other."

He further added, "However, I find it very distressing and baffling that these conversations were submitted as evidence without my consent."

Finally, regarding the latest court ruling in favor of Min Hee Jin, HYBE expressed disagreement and filed an appeal on the 19th.