BTS has become quite the hot topic in the world of K-Pop these days - and it is not because of their upcoming comeback set for September 18th. The group, alongside their agency Big Hit Entertainment, has been accused of black mail, manipulating the BillBoard Awards and illegal marketing tactics.
While ARMY (the BTS fandom) were quick to defend the boy group, Big Hit Entertainment was even faster and denied all rumors, reports and false claims/accusations regarding the company and their artists within 90 minutes. Big Hit Entertainment announced on its official press release on Tuesday that "Big Hit and its artists are victims of blackmail threats." The company further revealed in a statement that, "Lee worked alongside us two years ago, but only on a one-time project without much success. After that, Lee responded to us by saying, 'In the beginning of 2017, there was information on improper marketing activities against Big Hit Entertainment's manager.' He also said, 'If you do not give me money, I will spread it to the media and on SNS.'"
The company continued that, "The person in charge at that time tried to solve it directly because of the controversy itself that the image of the company and its artists would be damaged, but soon realized that it could not be solved on an individual level and informed the company. Big Hit recognized the situation and reported it to the police. After the investigation, he was sentenced on August 31, 2017 to one year in prison for violating law on punishment such as violence (collective airing) and fraud."
The reason the company was able to fire back so quickly and prove their innocence was because they would not be able to report the claims against Mr. Lee if they were partaking in these illegal marketing strategies. The type of illegal marketing both sides are referring to is called "Shortcutmarketing" which means normal online marketing is emphasized through improper viral marketing activities used to manipulate sales, records and more.
Big Hit Entertainment stated, "If we were engaging in improper marketing, as Lee suggested, it would be impossible for the company to notify IMO immediately and actively cooperate with the investigation process.If the unilateral allegation of the perpetrator is reported to be true, our image would be seriously damaged and there would be no entertainment company after that."
Big Hit Entertainment emphasized that they are a "transparent" company and ended their statements by revealing why they responded in just under 2 hours. "An immediate response was needed to minimize the damage to not only our image as an entertainment company but also BTS as well." In other news, the boy group is set to have their official comeback for 'Love Yourself: Her' on September 18th.
