ARMYs, brace yourselves! The K-pop world is buzzing with the latest controversy surrounding BTS and allegations of chart manipulation.
On April 29, the internet was set ablaze when court records surfaced, revealing accusations against BTS’s label, HYBE (previously known as Big Hit Music).
The label is under fire for allegedly using shady marketing tactics, a fact that came to light during legal proceedings.
Rewind to 2017, a certain Mr. A was slapped with a one-year prison sentence for extortion. He had threatened to spill the beans to the media about BTS’s supposed involvement in these illegal marketing activities.
HYBE has been on the defensive, denying any and all accusations of chart manipulation. However, the court has thrown a curveball, presenting evidence that contradicts HYBE’s claims.
Court documents suggest that the information Mr. A threatened to leak was tied to illicit marketing strategies masterminded by HYBE.
The plot thickens as it’s revealed that Mr. A posed as a third-party hacker who allegedly infiltrated emails to gather damning marketing data, which he then used as leverage.
Korean netizens are all over this, flooding online communities with their reactions. Comments range from “This is so embarrassing. I wish HYBE gets investigated,” and “This is so crazy,” to “I really hope BTS members didn’t know about this Sajaegi,” and “This feels like all of Korea was scammed by HYBE.”
The consensus? The truth will out.
Source[1]
