Hanteo Chart CEO Responds To Suspicions Of MOMOLAND's Album Being Bought In Bulk

Following recent accusations of sajaegi (manipulation of album sales through bulk buying), Hanteo Chart CEO Kwak Young Ho directly spoke to OSEN on February 14, saying that they’ve found no issues with the sales numbers.

Previously, sales of MOMOLAND’s mini album “GREAT!” were called into question when, after selling about 5,000 copies during January, sales reached over 8,000 copies in a single day, one month after the album’s release.

Kwak Young Ho responded, “When we see that the numbers reflect not the actual sales numbers, but a bulk purchase from an involved party, we believe aggressive legal action must be taken.

“As such, Hanteo Chart conducted a review of our data processing system in response to a rush of inquiries that we received on February 12, and there was no error. February 13, because suspicions persisted, we contacted the representative of the franchise where over 90 percent of MOMOLAND’s albums were sold and received response that there was no issue.”

He went on to explain the strict contract terms that Hanteo Chart has with the retailers that provide sales data: “According to Article 3, Clause 2 of Hanteo Chart’s contract with affiliated retailers, the retailers must give us material that satisfies our requirements regarding sales data. Moreover, under Article 4, Clause 2, regarding good faith and confidentiality, the data we receive must not be manipulated or false. Providing false data to Hanteo Chart is considered severe obstruction of business, and is grounds for us to remove a store’s affiliation with us, as well as demand compensation for damages incurred.”

Kwak Young Ho added that in order to promote healthy growth of the Korean music industry, Hanteo Chart recently signed an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with the Recording Industry Association of Korea and will be introducing a “Hanteo Family certificate” system for fair and accurate commercial activity and aggregation of sales data.

Closing, the Hanteo Chart CEO said, “In order to protect the rights of our affiliated retailers, we cannot reveal the name of the specific store in question. Hanteo Chart checks all the sales made both in Korea and abroad down to sales of one album, and we are prepared to take strict legal action in the event that we feel our public trust in our company is threatened.”

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