Legal rectords Show BTS Chart Manipulation Charges And Illegal Marketing Claims

BTS’s “sajaegi” chart manipulation charges have been revived by recent court rulings.

HYBE (previously Big Hit Music), BTS’s management company, was accused of improper marketing in court records obtained by local media.

Judge Sung Bo-gi of the Seoul Central District Court condemned Mr. A to one year in prison in 2017. Mr. A was found guilty of extortion for threatening to expose records to the media proving BTS was involved in illicit marketing unless he was paid. Mr. A extorted 57 million KRW ($47,000) in eight cases.

Mr. A claims he was recruited to market BTS online and used the documents he had collected to extort money. He accused BTS of illicit marketing and chart manipulation, which HYBE denies.

HYBE’s response was that Mr. A’s allegations were unrelated to their advertising services and that his assertions were merely regular online viral marketing methods. The corporation also stressed that artist management’s payments to Mr. A were personal actions to protect BTS’s image and not an admission of guilt.

The court filings show that Mr. A threatened to disclose HYBE’s illicit marketing tactics. Mr. A posed as a third party who hacked the email and stole illicit marketing data to scare the victims, according to the documents.

According to legal experts, the verdict plainly specifies “illegal marketing,” indicating that such acts occurred and were acknowledged by the court.

According to Article 26 of the music industry promotion law, buying or forcing others to buy music recordings to inflate sales figures is sajaegi, a crime punishable by two years in prison or a 20 million KRW fine.

After these fresh charges, HYBE is apparently contemplating legal action to safeguard BTS’s name. The firm reiterates its 2017 denial of unlawful activity after discovering repeated organized attempts to harm the group’s image.

This complicates the issues K-pop singers and their management organizations face in the fiercely competitive music industry, where sajaegi claims are common.