Oban's Side: "Allegations of Chart Manipulation Are Groundless... Isn't Fandom Different from Manipulation?"

Oban 'How Are You' Digital Single Cover / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Singer Oban has been caught up in allegations of chart manipulation, and Oban's agency Romantic Factory has once again denied the allegations and pleaded for the criticism to stop.

On the 9th, Park Jun-young, CEO of Romantic Factory, released an official statement saying, "The term 'chart manipulation' means hoarding, but among fandom behaviors aimed at boosting only a specific artist's chart without streaming music on multiple devices, who exactly is manipulating the charts?" he questioned.

The agency stated, "Can the fandom's actions be separated from the term 'chart manipulation'?" and added, "Because we overcame the fandoms' hoarding actions, should we be criticized as manipulators?"

He continued, "We understand that the criticism directed at us is almost like a religion," and said, "Your indiscriminate actions are hurting and tormenting our artist. We earnestly ask you to please save our artist."

Regarding the allegations of chart manipulation, the agency clarified, "Chart manipulation was already ruled out last December by the judiciary."

The agency explained, "In 2018, Oban was framed for chart manipulation simply because he ranked 10th on the real-time music chart. We filed multiple criminal lawsuits against those who posted false information for defamation and obstruction of business, and a ruling was made at the end of last year," adding, "Some received fines or conditional suspension of indictment with education. The police, prosecution, and judiciary have all recognized that the 'chart manipulation' rumor is false."

They added, "Such lawsuits involve significant time and financial costs, which was a considerable burden for us," but emphasized, "The reason we prepared these lawsuits and fought for over a year and a half was because we truly felt wronged."

Furthermore, they said, "Oban is not an artist without achievements or accomplishments," and stated, "What is most upsetting about this controversy is the distortion and disparagement that makes it seem as if an unknown artist suddenly achieved success."

The agency asserted, "Oban did not experience a reverse chart climb; the highest chart position was on the release day. Most artists with some level of recognition have their best performance on the release day," and claimed, "The reason Oban's chart was higher than artists like BTS and IU on the release day is because they did not release on the same day."

They continued, "It is also a strategy to schedule releases so they do not coincide with those of highly influential artists and to choose times when the impact is reduced," and said, "Oban did not come out on the same day and beat BTS. The logic that you are a cheater because you are more popular than BTS does not make sense."