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Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Hallyuwood devider BTS' V says private chat messages with Min Hee-jin submitted in court without his consent

BTS' V says private chat messages with Min Hee-jin submitted in court without his consent

Published Feb 20, 2026 04:17 pm

BTS member V said his private chat messages with former ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin were submitted as evidence in court without his consent. 

On Feb. 20, he posted on Instagram Stories a screenshot of a part of a news story that quoted court records. 

Last Feb. 12, the 31st Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court ordered HYBE to pay Min Hee-jin 22.5 billion won and former ADOR directors 1.4 billion won (about $970,046) for a total of 25.6 billion won (about $17.7 million). 

The court dismissed HYBE’s lawsuit against Min Hee-jin for confirmation of termination of the shareholder agreement. The issue was the put option stipulated in HYBE’s shareholder Agreement. Put option gives the owner the right to sell a specific asset at a predetermined price. 

In November 2024, Min Hee-jin resigned as an inside director and notified HYBE that she would exercise her right to resell her shares to HYBE at a set price as stated in the agreement. 

BTS' V (Instagram)
BTS' V (Instagram)

Based on the news story, one piece of evidence submitted to the court was a KakaoTalk conversation between V and Min Hee-jin. The court accepted it.

The conversation was about K-pop group ILLIT allegedly copying NewJeans, a group under ADOR, an affiliate company of HYBE. 

In the chat, V’s message to Min Hee-jin read, “(There's always talk of plagiarism, and it's never stopped). Yeah, that's right. I saw it and thought, 'Oh, this is similar.'" 

V explained that this was part of a private chat that was submitted as evidence in the case without his consent. 

“This was part of a private, everyday conversation shared with empathy as an acquaintance.  I had absolutely no intention of taking sides. I am very flustered that these conversations were submitted as evidence without my consent,” V wrote. 

HYBE has filed an appeal to overturn the court decision. 

“HYBE finds it unfortunate that its views were not fully reflected in the court’s decision. The company will review the written ruling and proceed with further legal steps, including an appeal,” said HYBE earlier in a statement sent to Manila Bulletin. 

The clarification posted by BTS' V (Instagram)
The clarification posted by BTS' V (Instagram)
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