South Korea prosecutes 11 perpetrators for chart manipulation and obstruction of music business

On May 21, 2024, a South Korean media outlet news reported that 11 accused were prosecuted without detention for music chart manipulation. The legal community stated that the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, 6th Criminal Division, led by Chief Prosecutor Jeong Ji-eun, indicted the perpetrators which also includes Mr. Kim, the former CEO of an entertainment agency.

On May 20, the 11 people were accused of using computers and other technology to obstruct business, although none of them were being detained. The 11 defendants are also accused by the prosecution of being part of the music hoarding incident. The incident allegedly involved streaming certain artists' music repeatedly on popular domestic music websites between December 2018 and 2019 to increase rankings.

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South Korean K-pop industry shrouded with several speculations of music chart manipulation

According to Chosun Ilbo, in October 2022, the prosecution was presented with this matter and began its investigation. Numerous music site accounts were allegedly utilized for hoarding which has further complicated the case. The prosecutors stated that the criminal list is over 130,000 pages long.

Meanwhile, Newsen reported that the 11 individuals prosecuted on May 20, 2024, were charged with rigging the music chart rankings of an artist. They played 15 music sources 1,727,985 times over using around 500 virtual computers. Furthermore, several IPs (Internet Protocol addresses) were allegedly bought in bulk, and 1,627 pieces of unlawfully obtained personal data. This demonstrated that the abuse response system on the music website had been rendered ineffective.

The prosecutor stated that the current probe had revealed the alleged chart manipulation to be true. They mentioned that they would prosecute the accused with accurate punishments as levied by the law.

"Through this investigation, we have specifically confirmed that the suspicion of music hoarding, which has been consistently raised in the music market, has been systematically carried out. We will do our best to carry out the prosecution so that the defendants can be charged to sentences commensurate with the crime," he said. (as reported by Newsen and translation taken from Google Translate)

The prosecution also named Mr. Lee, the former agent of Trot singer Young Tak, who requested that Mr. Kim stockpile songs by chart manipulation. However, Young Tak was cleared of all charges. It was disclosed that while operating a PR and entertainment planning organization, Mr. Kim received requests to alter song rankings through a sales broker.

According to Chosun Ilbo, he was reportedly paid between 30 million won ($21,985.29) and 160 million won ($1,17,256.59) for each song to increase illegal streaming. However, prosecutors claimed that part of the money was returned if the hoarding effect was negligible. Three entertainment firms all requested Mr. Kim to hoard music and the music of vocalists such as Young Tak, K-pop group Nature, and ballad singer KCM.

Chosun Ilbo further reported that trot singer Young Tak's songs like Why Are You Out There, OOPSIE by idol group Nature, and Between Love and Friendship by ballad singer KCM are reportedly among the tracks that used the help of Mr.Kim in chart manipulations. Mr. Kim and his associates bypassed the music website by allocating IP addresses to several virtual computers and gained access to them using several identities for chart manipulation.

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In other news, on May 21, 2024, Koreaboo reported that the Korean Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) received a complaint to investigate BTS' alleged chart manipulation (sajaegi). The organization is under the Ministry Of Culture, Sports, And Tourism and directly received the complaint and has stated to contact HYBE for further probe.