The Ministry of Culture is investigating allegations of fraud against BTS.

BTS's management company is under investigation.

According to K-Selection, the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism confirmed that it had received a complaint requesting an investigation into allegations of music chart manipulation involving the group BTS.

"We have received a complaint regarding chart manipulation related to BTS, and after checking with the Korea Creative Content Agency, we will begin an investigation," a ministry official said.

The controversy surrounding BTS's digital music chart manipulation seven years ago has unexpectedly resurfaced.

In the complaint, an individual (referred to as Mr. A) stated: "The court's ruling in January 2017 completely contradicts the views of Big Hit (a subsidiary of Hybe Group)."

The court ruled that the blackmailer had used chart manipulation to threaten the company, but also acknowledged Big Hit's involvement in illegal promotion and chart manipulation.

Korean music industry promotion laws stipulate that any act of buying or persuading others to buy recordings to inflate sales figures falsely constitutes "sajaegi" (false sales manipulation). This criminal offense can be punishable by up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million KRW (approximately US$16,600).

According to Mr. A, based on the content of the ruling, it can be seen that illegal marketing activities took place even during the period from February 23, 2016 to January 11, 2017 - the date of promulgation of the Law on Music Industry Promotion (amended). This includes a provision on "album ranking manipulation".

In addition, Mr. A also requested a reinvestigation into the "Album of the Year" award that BTS won at the 2016 Melon Music Awards.

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According to Koreaboo, in 2017, a man (referred to as Mr. B) sent an email to BTS's management company, threatening to provide the media with documents related to BTS's alleged manipulation of music charts through illegal marketing. The song in question is "I Need You".

Specifically, B was hired to conduct online marketing activities for BTS. Due to financial difficulties, B resorted to extortion.

At that time, B had received a total of 57 million Won (over 1 billion VND). Subsequently, B was sentenced to one year in prison for extortion.

According to South Korean media, the court acknowledged that digital music fraud had indeed occurred.

BTS's management company has denied all allegations of fraud, asserting that they only implemented normal marketing measures.

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A Big Hit representative stated that the payment to B was a decision made by the artist management team to protect BTS's image, not an admission of guilt.

However, the latest information from the South Korean media suggests that the court has reached a different conclusion.

Authorities emphasized that the person hired for marketing violated business confidentiality regulations. The individual was also fined for illegal marketing practices.

Legal experts acknowledge that the aforementioned verdict mentions "illegal marketing." This indicates that the manipulation of digital music did indeed occur and was confirmed by authorities.

Following this incident, Big Hit announced that it would take legal action against the false information. "Recently, we discovered some organized attempts to defame and slander BTS. We issued an official statement in 2017, and nothing has changed," Big Hit's announcement stated.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/bo-van-hoa-the-thao-va-du-lich-han-quoc-vao-cuoc-vu-bts-bi-to-gian-lan-192240504082840082.htm