'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAFAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYH/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAwT/2gAMAwEAAhADEAAAAKHEykv/xAAdEAADAAICAwAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMEBQAGMVFx/9oACAEBAAE/ANhnvW7zRROKlgVHlvp5i9m3M8aKT2FVRUAUehz/xAAWEQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACAAH/2gAIAQIBAT8Aa2//xAAWEQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACAAH/2gAIAQMBAT8ABy//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
On Thursday, October 24, 2024, Yonhap News reported that HYBE Corporation was scrutinized for alleged album pushing. During the National Assembly Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee's state audit, HYBE COO, Kim Tae-ho, was summoned as a witness for the hearing to determine the album sales manipulation allegations aka 'sajaegi.'
Democratic Party of Korea representative Min Hyung-bae further alleged that the label sold some albums with a return policy, however, the total number of albums shipped out was recorded as "initial sales" or "first-week sales." Notably, the albums returned to the company were not deducted from the list.
Kim Tae-ho responded that they acknowledged the situation and conducted an internal audit. He agreed that some albums were sold under a "returnable structure." Kim Tae-ho added that they have established "guidelines" to thwart such attempts at album sales in the future.
Trending
"There were some issues raised about this at the beginning of the year, so we conducted an internal audit. We confirmed that about a few percent of the albums sold last year were sold with a returnable structure. We have established guidelines to ensure that sales in this way never happen again as a company regulation," he revealed.
HYBE questioned for alleged ILLIT plagiarism & derogatory remarks made against idol trainees about their looks
COO Kim Tae-ho, also the CEO of Belift Lab (HYBE subsidiary), further clarified when he was questioned about ILLIT's alleged plagiarism controversy. He said that the allegations were false and that they had filed a criminal lawsuit against Min Hee-jin (former ADOR CEO) for defamation. He shared:
"It is not true. We have filed a civil and criminal lawsuit against former CEO Min Hee-jin (ADOR), who raised this issue. We are waiting for the judiciary's decision, and we plan to reveal through the court any data or evidence that proves that this is not true."
For the unversed, in April 2024, Min Hee-jin accused Belift Lab's rookie girl group, ILLIT, of alleged plagiarism. She claimed that the group allegedly copied the choreography of ADOR's girl group, NewJeans. Since then, ILLIT has faced severe backlash and has been embroiled in plagiarism allegations. The Chosun Daily reported that in June 2024 Belift Lab filed a lawsuit against Min Hee-jin.
On October 11, 2024, Belift Lab posted on ILLIT's X account that the plagiarism claims made by Min Hee-jin against the group were baseless. They refuted her claims that Belift Lab "copied" Newjeans' proposal and stated that the label would submit evidence in court that would prove Min Hee-jin wrong.
Meanwhile, on October 24, 2024, the National Assembly audit also addressed derogatory remarks made against rookie idol trainees by HYBE employees during trainee assessments. Democratic Party of Korea representative, Min Hyung-bae, showed data of alleged inappropriate remarks about their facial features were made against rookie trainees.
Some remarks also mentioned the usage of "severe plastic surgery" done by some trainees. Representative Min Hyung-bae questioned Kim Tae-ho about the remarks and the Belift Lab CEO clarified that these comments were collected comments left by fans on online forums.
"This is not HYBE's opinion or official judgment. It is a summary of many online posts."
Going back to the album push allegations, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Yoo In-chon, stated that the corporation is an international company and would look into the label's sales policy thoroughly.
The audit was live-streamed by Channel A Korea News on YouTube. During the audit, a screenshot between HYBE's management team and a retailer from Japan was displayed on the screen. The screenshot showed a communication where the label sent 250,000 albums to Japan and asked for a "return policy" for 100,000 albums from it if unsold.
Furthermore, the label was accused of dumping albums during fan sign events to allegedly inflate album sales. However, the name of the K-pop group wasn't mentioned.
In other news, Min Hee-jin was appointed as the inside director of ADOR on October 17, 2024, after she was fired from the position of CEO on August 27. Currently, Kim Joo-young is serving as ADOR's CEO since August 27, 2024.
