An anonymous informant has shared evidence of digital chart manipulation.

Recently, the topic of digital chart manipulation has drawn much attention again after Block B’s Park Kyung shared a post accusing several artists of engaging in the method while the mentioned artists announced plans to take legal action. People in the industry also shared their thoughts on the latest controversy and explained why it is so difficult to expose the manipulation.

According to previous interviews of industry insiders, thousands of IDs are used to stream a song generally at nighttime when there are less users, allowing the rankings go up easily. Agencies either pay the brokers large sums of money or agree to split the profits.

On December 5, an anonymous source sent media outlet Sports World a photo of a computer with a song being streamed using tens of accounts simultaneously.

The source claimed, “This should be one of the singers Park Kyung recently mentioned.” They continued to reveal their reason for sharing the information, stating, “Recently, it has become a societal issue, and I hope this helps singer Park Kyung at least a little bit.” The source added, “The original file is a video, and the face of the person who is operating the computer is shown. I plan on making a request to an agency that specializes in facial recognition and also plan on submitting it to investigative agencies, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, and other organizations involved with the music industry.”

Back in 2015, JTBC reported on chart manipulation with a photo of what appeared to be a factory for streaming purposes. However, despite multiple suspicions being raised, no in-depth investigation took place.

Recently, many other individuals including Sung Si Kyung, the founder of Cube Entertainment, Crush, and Mommy Son have spoken up regarding the issue.

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