Bang Si Hyuk is the founder of HYBE and launched BTS in 2013 through agency BigHit. (Photo: Disclosure)
BIGHIT took action after an old court case involving the BTS. The process took place in 2017 and investigated alleged prohibited practices by the agency with the K-Pop group, such as chart manipulation and illegal marketing. In a statement, the HYBE subsidiary stated that it will take “legal measures in relation to issues that infringe on the rights of artists”.
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According to BIGHIT, such issues may include “malicious slander against artists, creation of rumors, dissemination of false information, indiscriminate insults and mockery that crossed the line”.
“The company considers these actions to be a serious violation of the artists’ honor and, in addition to the usual legal responses, plans to appoint an additional law firm for a more rigorous response. Currently, malicious posts targeting artists are being monitored in real time and collected as evidence. Violators will be dealt with severely, without any leniency or agreement, applying a principle of zero tolerance“.
Furthermore, the agency was questioned directly by the South Korean press about the previous court ruling that raised allegations of chart manipulation: “We will verify whether this allegation is also unfounded.”
Understand the case involving BTS
In August 2017, a man titled as Mr. A was sentenced to one year in prison for joint extortion after threatening to release information about illegal marketing to the media unless he was paid. This caused him to extort 57 million won, around R$211,000. The court’s decision led to speculation that the BTS could have engaged in illegal marketing practices such as chart manipulation, which BIGHIT has always denied.
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However, despite the agency’s denial, the court highlighted contrary findings. O Mr. A and his associates disguised themselves as third parties who had hacked emails to acquire data about illegal marketing conducted by the agency representing the company they worked for.
Later, the court also mentioned that the Mr. A lied about the fact that he was blackmailed with hacked marketing data regarding the BTSa client of the entertainment agency for which he provided services, and exploited this fabricated scenario to extract the money.
While recognizing that victims engaged in unconventional marketing practices that served as a pretext for blackmailthe court noted that the actual financial damage was limited to 42 million won, around R$155 thousand.
Thus, contrary to the agency’s claims, the court accepted the findings that the Mr. A had threatened to expose the manipulations of music charts and other acts related to the group. Furthermore, the court pointed out that BIGHIT’s own marketing practices contributed to the situation.
Tags: BIGHIT takes action disclosure legal case involving BTS
