BTS and their agency have been involved in a recent blackmailing case where CEO Lee of a contracting and marketing firm was sentenced after being charged with blackmailing Big Hit Entertainment.
On September 6th CEO Lee was sentenced to one year in prison by the Seoul Central District Court after threatening to reveal Big Hit Entertainment's alleged illegal marketing practices. CEO Lee had sent the following threat to Big Hit Entertainment and its artists.
"I've hacked and obtained documents regarding the illegal marketing you've done for your artists. If you don't send 330 million Won (~$291,000 USD), I'll release the documents to media and distribute it through messaging." Big Hit Entertainment responded to the threat by not paying any of the money they demanded. During the case, Big Hit Entertainment made this official statement in regards to Lee and his attempt at blackmail.
"Lee was tasked with advertising and handling marketing for albums two years ago, and it ended as a one-time project. Afterwards, Lee claimed that he found inappropriate marketing documents and made threats of blackmail against us. After becoming aware of the situation, Big Hit immediately reported Lee to the police, and after he was detained, he was sentenced to one year in prison for charges of threats, blackmail, and fraud. Big Hit and the agency artists are victims of blackmail threats. Big Hit is a transparent company that has legitimate dealings with external companies. All contracts and sourcing are managed according to accounting standards."
The entertainment company reassured that this court case would not harm or affect their artists or their activities in any way. They reassured fans and ended on a positive note saying, "We'll do everything we can to carefully manage our business partners and contractors to prevent this from happening again."
