4 min readHyderabadFeb 20, 2026 02:25 PM IST
BTS member Kim Taehyung has broken his silence after private KakaoTalk messages exchanged between him and former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin were submitted as court evidence, without his knowledge or consent.
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In an Instagram Story posted on Friday, Taehyung wrote: “This is part of a private everyday conversation that I shared with empathy because they were my acquaintance. I have absolutely no intention of taking sides with either party. However, I feel extremely disturbed that this conversation was submitted as evidence without my consent.”
The statement came after South Korean news outlet Kyunghyang Shinmun reported on Friday that the court documents from the shareholder agreement lawsuit between HYBE and Min Hee Jin revealed that the KakaoTalk messages had been included as part of the proceedings. In those messages, Taehyung had responded to Min’s concerns about plagiarism within the industry, reportedly acknowledging that he too felt certain content looked similar, a private exchange that has now found its way into a very public legal record.
The dispute between HYBE and Min Hee Jin has been one of the most closely watched conflicts in the K-pop industry over the past two years. Min, the creative force behind NewJeans and former CEO of HYBE subsidiary ADOR, was dismissed from her role in August 2024 following a bitter falling out with the parent company. At the heart of the legal dispute was a shareholder agreement and a put option, Min’s right to sell her shares in ADOR back to HYBE at an agreed valuation.
HYBE attempted to terminate that agreement, claiming Min had breached her contract by allegedly trying to seize control of ADOR. Min countered that the accusations were retaliatory and that the collapse in trust was triggered by HYBE’s own actions, including the launch of an internal audit and a public push for her resignation.
On February 12, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in Min’s favour, dismissing HYBE’s claims and ordering the company to pay approximately 25.5 billion KRW, roughly 18 million USD, in stock proceeds under her put option. HYBE has since filed an appeal.
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Central to Min’s case was her allegation that ILLIT, a girl group under HYBE subsidiary BELIFT LAB, had plagiarised NewJeans’ creative direction. The court determined that Min Hee Jin’s suspicions regarding the plagiarism constituted a legitimate expression of opinion. It was in support of this argument that the KakaoTalk messages between her and Taehyung were introduced, with his remarks about the similarity being referenced in the court’s reasoning.
What makes the situation particularly sensitive is that Taehyung was never involved in the litigation. He is a BTS artist under HYBE, the very company on the opposing side of Min’s lawsuit, which places him in an uncomfortable position regardless of what his private messages said. His Instagram statement made it clear he had no intention of taking sides.
ARMYs raise questions about timing
The fan response to this latest development has been swift and protective. ARMYs across social media platforms have flooded Taehyung’s comments with messages of support, making clear they stand firmly behind him. But beyond the support, a growing number of fans have pointed to something that feels harder to dismiss, the timing. BTS’ highly anticipated comeback album Arirang is set for release on March 20, just weeks away, marking the group’s first full project in over three years. For many fans, the fact that Taehyung’s private messages surfaced in public court reporting right at the peak of comeback anticipation, does not feel like coincidence. Whether that concern holds any weight remains unproven, but it reflects a broader unease: that a member who had no role in this dispute, and no say in how his words were used, now finds himself at the centre of a controversy not of his making, at the worst possible time.
