The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism is finally beginning the procedure of resolving suspicions of Nilo and Shaun’s alleged digital chart manipulation.

On September 14, a source from the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism stated, “We are currently waiting for the data we requested from music service businesses. We have yet to receive data from the relevant sites. After the data work is complete, it seems we will be able to receive it soon.”

In the meantime, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism had heard about the industry matter due to the requests made by Nilo and Shaun’s agencies for the ministry to “dispel their feelings of injustice.” They explained, “Because we don’t have the authority to investigate and be involved in the matter ourselves, we decided to take on at least a detailed analyzation of the data in the stages of addressing civil complaints.”

Because there were concerns that [obtaining such data] would conflict with privacy laws, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism said, “We’ve taken the necessary steps [for those issues]. We’ve made an additional request for data that is less inclusive of personal information. Because it was a supplementary request [on our part], it will take several days to collect the data.”

Suspicions of chart manipulation on Korean streaming sites arose on several online communities following Nilo’s speedy rise to No. 1 during the early morning times in April. Nilo’s agency stated, “It was the result of viral marketing.” In July, Shaun also received similar accusations after his track “Way Back Home” rose to the top of music charts during similar time frames as Nilo’s song “Pass.” Both of the artists’ agencies firmly stated, “It’s definitely not manipulation,” and inquired the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to investigate the matter, as they claimed they were the victims.

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