“Literally chart manipulation”- Fans slam Hanteo for alleged sales cuts & unfair practices after BTS' Jungkook’s GOLDEN suffers massive deletions

Outrage erupted among fans of BTS' Jungkook after significant sales adjustments were made by Hanteo, a prominent South Korean chart system. The controversy centers on the reported undercounting of sales for the idol's debut album, GOLDEN, which many believe cost the artist numerous accolades, including potential Daesang awards.

The issue came to light when Hanteo released a corrected version of their 2023 Yearly Chart just before the 2024 update. The updated chart showed that GOLDEN had sold over 3.23 million copies, a sharp increase from the previously reported 2.6 million sales. This revelation positioned the album at #6 on the list, up from its earlier rank of #7.

Fans labeled the incident as “chart manipulation” and demanded accountability from the platform. An X user wrote:

"girl jungkook was a 3M seller he could have won so many awards and fuc**ss hanteo stole that from him. i hope those morons get sued this is literally chart manipulation.'

A fan reaction (Image via X/@chakookietete) A fan reaction (Image via X/@chakookietete)

Others also highlighted that this correction came too late, as the Still With You singer had already missed out on major award opportunities due to the initially misreported figures.

"JUNGKOOK LOST AWARDS BECAUSE OF THIS NONSENSE !!! THE WAY HE WAS SABOTAGED WHEN HE IS IN FACT A 3M SELLER !!!!," a fan commented.

"hanteo deserves repercussions for this idc it literally cost so many awards for jungkook," a user wrote.

"So many k-awards are sales based...and they releasing it now when there is no way he couldn’t be nominated for any award.. One wouldn’t believe from these "mistakes" that he is the biggest solo artist of a big company," a person added.

While others voiced criticism of Hanteo for its unprofessionalism, some chose to view the situation from a more positive perspective.

"Let's go!!! Jungkook is a 3M seller with his debut album! King behavior as always!," a netizen wrote.

"you’re so unprofessional and we will never trust you !!!," an X user wrote.

"JUNGKOOK 3M SELLER THATS A WAY TO START THE YEAR," a fan commented.

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More about the alleged deletion of BTS' Jungkook's GOLDEN album

One particularly contentious aspect of the adjustments was the alleged delegation of 630,000 sales from GOLDEN, the highest number of cuts seen for any BTS member. Fans expressed frustration, claiming these discrepancies sabotaged the idol's achievements as the first Korean soloist to surpass 3 million album sales on Hanteo. This milestone broke a 30-year record previously held by Kim Gun-mo’s Wrongful Meeting.

Released on November 3, 2023, GOLDEN is the BTS member's debut studio album and features collaborations with artists like Jack Harlow, Latto, Major Lazer, and DJ Snake. The album received widespread acclaim and was supported by hit singles such as Seven and 3D, both of which achieved international success.

Amid the backlash, Hanteo acknowledged errors in their initial calculations but did not explain the significant delays in releasing the corrected data. Fans are calling for greater transparency from the platform, emphasizing that such mistakes impact not only artists but also their supporters who contribute to album sales.

Jungkook’s GOLDEN has since continued to make history, becoming the longest-charting album by a K-pop soloist on the Billboard 200, with 25 weeks and counting.

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As the artist currently completes his mandatory military service, fans eagerly await his return to the entertainment industry in 2025.