"'Stockpiling Suspicion' Kim Geuntae, Bareunmirae Party Candidate, Expresses Regret Over Lee Gikwang's Prosecution Complaint"

On the 8th, Kim Geun-tae, the youth proportional representation candidate of the People's Party, held a press conference regarding suspicions of manipulation in the music charts. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Seul-gi] Singer Lee Gi-kwang has filed a lawsuit against Kim Geun-tae, a proportional representative candidate of the People's Party, who raised suspicions of music chart manipulation, while Kim stated, "There is clearly a responsibility to clarify this."

On the 13th, Kim posted on his Facebook, saying, "I express regret over the lawsuit filed by Lee Gi-kwang's side with the prosecution on the 13th."

Kim said, "On the 10th, I visited the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and submitted a 'Public Interest Investigation Request for a Fair Society (Accusation)' naming Creativever (CEO Kim Dae-gun), an illegal manipulation group, as the accused," adding, "When submitting the accusation, I also submitted evidence that could investigate manipulation by other companies besides Creativever."

He continued, "I want to make it clear that the essence of this issue lies in the unfair behavior of illegal manipulation groups," emphasizing, "If Lee Gi-kwang's side did not agree to such illegal marketing, there is clearly a responsibility to clarify this."

Kim added, "I hope the truth of this matter will be clearly revealed through the prosecution's investigation," and said, "I will continue efforts to cut off unfair advantages, privileges, unfairness, and irrationality in our society and to create a fair Republic of Korea."

Earlier on the same day, Lee Gi-kwang's agency, Around Us Entertainment, strongly responded to Kim Geun-tae's claim on the 8th that "there were illegal attempts to manipulate the music rankings of a total of 11 teams and singers, including singer IU, Bolbbalgan4, and Youngtak."

Around Us stated, "We have filed a lawsuit against candidate Kim Geun-tae regarding the baseless false claims that our artist Lee Gi-kwang was involved in illegal music chart manipulation."

Following Kim's claims, Bolbbalgan4, Youngtak, and others strongly denied, stating that "there was no attempt to manipulate the music charts."