Kakao Entertainment Responds To Allegations They Slandered Competing Idol Groups Amid An Investigation By The Fair Trade Commission

Kakao Entertainment responded to allegations that they maliciously published unfavorable media coverage of competing idol groups through Idol Issue, a media outlet that was purchased by Kakao Entertainment.

On November 17, the entertainment company denied allegations that they maliciously slandered competing idol groups through Idol Issue.

We purchased Idol Issue to publish music content, and it was a Facebook page that was run by a third party. Due to copyright issues and administrative issues, we deleted all posts and shut down the page last month. We published articles chasing (views), but we have never had any other malicious intent when covering certain artists.

— Kakao Entertainment

The label stated that incidents of publishing content that might be deemed unfavorable were due to running a site that relied on hot topics and controversial issues. The label denied that the content was published with malicious intent.

Previously, the Fair Trade Commission had launched an investigation into allegations that Kakao Entertainment was unfairly leveraging the media publication. The commission sent agents to conduct an on-site investigation and examine the publication’s past content.

Kakao Entertainment is home to idols such as Apink, Victon, The Boyz, and Weeekly, as well as owning equity in several subsidiary labels that are home to some of K-Pop’s biggest acts, such as IU, IVE, and MONSTA X.