As HYBE’s court case with Min Hee Jin recently received a lot of attention, this revelation will startle many. According to court documents recently made public, the music company has been using a surprising tactic to ensure bestselling albums. Netizens have been poring over the legal documents in Korean. Some of them discovered a surprising thing about how K-pop functions. Read all about it below!
HYBE Pre-Buying Albums To Inflate Pre-Sales, Court Documents Reveal
Per South Korean law, legal transcripts can be viewed publicly after a specific amount of time has passed. Therefore, on February 27, 2026, documents from Min Hee Jin’s court dates against HYBE were dropped. What was revealed shocked netizens. According to the documents, HYBE was aware of ILLIT’s similarities to NewJeans, but debuted the younger group anyway. Additionally, reports alleged proof of sajaegi or album sales manipulation by HYBE in these released files.
Because these documents are in Korean, they have not been individually verified. However, translations imply that Min Hee Jin apparently denied HYBE’s offer of sales manipulation for NewJeans’ music. Additional documents say that the music label was actively using a free-exchange/return policy for new albums. Basically, they would send large quantities of records to music companies selling albums. Later, the unsold stock could be returned in exchange for newer albums.
The documents have gone viral on Korean media platforms, notably The Qoo. Netizens have called out HYBE for supposed sajaegi. They apparently called the label’s sales inflated because the initial albums would count in the first week’s sales. Notably, the HYBE COO addressed this back in 2024, when Min Hee Jin first accused groups other than NewJeans of benefiting from exploiting this practice. He said that an internal audit found this “returnable structure” was used on a “small percentage” of stock, which would be avoided in the future.
Netizens Shocked Over Sales Manipulation By HYBE
While this practice of sending more stock than needed is not new, it seems slightly shady to online social media users. Some even went as far as to call it fraud. Others brought up BTS, the biggest group at HYBE’s BIGHIT MUSIC. Check out some reactions below.
It should be noted that these documents may have been released now, but they have no relation to the sales of new albums.
Also Read: Will HYBE Accept Min Hee Jin’s $17.8 Million Deal To Drop Cases Against NewJeans?
While not new, the sajaegi claims have shaken many netizens. The documents bring the alleged HYBE album sales manipulation and other matters about the case with Min Hee Jin to light. However, as proceedings are ongoing, one cannot definitively say who is right or wrong.
Also Read: Why Did HYBE Deposit $20.5 Million After Seoul Court Ruled In Min Hee Jin’s Favour?