Hyeri’s Movie Faces “Sajaegi” Allegations, Distributors Respond
Hyeri’s new movie Victory has been accused of committing sajaegi.
The term Sajaegi, primarily heard in the context of K-Pop, usually refers to manipulating numbers to boost a project’s market performance on paper. Hyeri’s movie Victory, which was released in theaters on August 14, was recently suspected of inflating box office numbers through bulk ticket buying.
Despite a star-studded cast, Victory’s box office performance has been disappointing, to the point that Hyeri broke down in tears and took it upon herself to promote the movie at every chance she got.
But on September 10, the movie recorded 13,189 viewers, which was highly unusual for a Tuesday. The following day, online communities were abuzz with speculations about sajaegi, with netizens pointing out different discrepancies that led them to doubt the numbers.
According to the Integrated Ticketing System for Theaters, Victory attracted 10,892 viewers on September 7, Saturday, and 9,088 on September 8, Sunday. The fact that the movie recorded a much higher footfall on a Tuesday than the weekends has struck many as odd. In comparison, Alien: Romulus, the second-highest ranking movie at the theaters, recorded only 10,640 viewers on Tuesday, despite drawing 52,888 viewers on Saturday and 43,646 viewers on Sunday.
Apart from Tuesdays being typically low for movie attendance, the fact that some theaters sold out their tickets for Victory even during inconvenient hours, such as lunchtime on a weekday, has strengthened the suspicions of bulk buying.
While this controversy was brewing, Hyeri posted a textual exchange between her and co-star Park Se Wan, in which the two celebrated the spike in their movie’s viewership. This only added more fuel to the drama.
Park Se Wan: Still, it’s amazing that we were in the last spot, and now we’re number one! Huge thanks to you, Hyeri.
Hyeri: No, no. You also came running to help, too. I’m touched.
[Responding to Park’s first message] You’re right… Really..Park Se Wan: Let’s go higher!
Hyeri: Higher, higher!!!
While some defended the idol actress, arguing that she might have been unaware of the controversy, many questioned whether actors could be oblivious to popular feedback for their movies.
On September 12, KST, Mindmark, the movie’s distributor, released an official statement clarifying that the situation was a misunderstanding. Addressing the suspicious sold-out weekday shows, Mindmark explained that it was due to some corporate and group screenings that were not supposed to be open to the public.
Some corporate and group screenings were scheduled ahead of the Chuseok holiday, leading to an increase in audience numbers during weekdays. The sold-out weekday screenings that caused controversy in online communities were confirmed to be corporate and group screenings. Typically, group screenings are not available for general reservation on booking platforms, but the schedule for some screenings was mistakenly opened to the public, causing misunderstandings.
— Mindmark
Meanwhile, Victory is a youth story about two friends, Pil Sun (Hyeri) and Mina (Park Se Wan), who become amateur cheerleaders to inspire the world and themselves.
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