BOL4, Kikwang, GWSN, Ali and many other Korean artists have been accused of manipulating the digital music charts, but they have strongly denied it.
On April 8 at a press conference at the National Assembly, a representative of the Korean People’s Party claimed that a marketing company manipulated the music chart by illegal means.
In this allegation, the People’s Party representative stated that artists like Go Seung Hyung, GWSN, BADKIZ, Bolbbalgan4, Song Haye, Young Tak, Yoyomi, Sohyang, Ali and Kikwang (Highlight) were all involved in the scandal.
“On the issue of unfair music charts manipulation that is now controversial online, we have learned that an agency called “Creativer” has used illegal methods to hack into the account of many people and manipulate music charts. “
He also claimed that they used IU as a shield to hide the manipulation. “In order to hide the manipulation, Creativer used a meticulous way to prepare for any contingency by playing the music of other musicians, including Melon’s singers,” he said. “It is for this reason that IU’s songs, which was having a break period, have sometimes been on the charts or appeared on the search word list for no reason,” he claimed, adding that the music industry is expected to see a huge stir in the future.
As soon as the accusations were made, the management agencies of the artists mentioned above denied it, saying the allegations were completely false. A representative of Bolbbalgan4 said, “We have never manipulated any music charts. We have never heard of a company called Creativer. We will take legal action against false rumors that are defaming our artists.“
There is no truth to the reports about the chart manipulation. It is groundless.
— Kiwi Pop (GWSN)
The report is absolute not true. We will take legal action against the spread of false information.
— Around Us Entertainment (Highlight Kikwang)
There is no truth about the manipulation report. It is completely groundless.
— School Music Entertainment (Yoyomi)
Many netizens have mixed reactions about the allegations: “It gives me goosebumps. As Park Kyung said, it is not a simple matter”, “It turned out they cheated to get promoted on the chart, then they were naturally “considered digital music monsters”, “It is true that BOL4 was suddenly famous. One of them has recently left the company. Is it because of guilt?”
