Vibe has released a statement regarding the sajaegi suspicions that were raised by Park Kyung.

Park Kyung posted a tweet accusing Vibe, Song Ha Ye, Lim Jae Hyun, Jeon Sang Keun, Jang Deok Cheol, and Hwang In Wook of sajaegi (the manipulation of album sales numbers through bulk buying an album by an artist’s own agency), and the aforementioned artists all took legal action against Park Kyung for defamation.

In their new statement, Vibe expresses their hopes to be cleared of the suspicions and for the true perpetrators of sajaegi to be revealed.

Read the full statement below:

On November 24, we were taken aback by an unexpected situation that arose due to a comment from a certain artist. The statement was completely false, so we considered it a simple mistake when we first came across it. Through his agency, we asked him to clarify what isn’t true and apologize.

However, the response we got was, “We have deleted the post, but an apology will be difficult [to give].” A few days later, the false statement came back to us as a dishonorable stigma and frame. The controversy was spread indiscriminately, and a shameful label was placed [on us]. No matter how much we said it isn’t true, [people] didn’t believe us.

As a result, we tried to prove through legal measures, the fairest method of all, that [the allegations] are not true. However, taking legal measures took time, and a week passed by while doing so. Believing the distorted truth, people began to contribute [to the buzz]. Unproven rumors like, “I heard that so-and-so did [such-and-such],” began to spread as sensational issues and keywords, and unspeakable malicious comments began to flood in towards our music and even our family.

We thought that if things continued at this speed, it would be too late when the results of the investigations are announced a few months later. It seemed like [Vibe] would have already become an artist branded with a dishonorable stigma and placed in a frame created by false facts.

In order to personally prove that [Vibe] has never done anything that constitutes a crime and to find those who engaged in the unlawful act of sajaegi and caused this issue to arise, we have asked all bodies that we deemed would be able to investigate the issue (Kakao M, Naver Music, Soribada, Bugs, Dreamus Company, Genie, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Fair Trade Commission, Korea Singers Association, Congressperson Ahn Min Suk, Federation of Korean Music Performers, Korea Music Copyright Association, Korea Copyright Protection Agency, Korea Music Content Association, Recording Industry Association of Korea, Korea Creative Content Agency, Korea Communications Commission, and Korea Management Federation) to initiate an investigation and urged them to cooperate with us.

And we are waiting for our innocence to be proved through lawful and fair procedures as soon as possible.

To make this happen sooner, more than anything, we ask the [music] distributors to check their data to prove the truth. What we sincerely hope for is to at least be able to look at the data regarding the teams that were brought up as being problematic. Moreover, we sincerely ask everyone to raise their voices to the external world so that these issues can be clearly revealed.

We hope that those who brought the issue to light will understand that their words carry weight and responsibility and present clear and accurate evidence instead of hearsay to reveal the truth about who has committed the wrongdoing.

Vibe fully agrees that sajaegi, which leads to distrust within the music industry, must be eradicated. As both the victim of a false rumor and a senior in the music industry, Vibe will put our music career on the line and clarify this.