K-pop album store apologizes to Hanteo Global for accusations of seeking users' personal data



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K-pop album store apologizes to Hanteo Global for accusations of seeking users' personal data; calls it 'overreaction’

A popular K-pop album store has released an apology statement to Hanteo Global for accusing the company of requesting personal information of customers to verify sale volumes.

By Hrishita Das

Updated on Sep 03, 2024  |  09:39 PM IST |  18.2K







EXO's Chanyeol: courtesy of SM Entertainment, Hanteo Global

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The global K-pop store Ktown4u issued an apology statement to Hanteo Global after they accused the company of allegedly asking for buyers’ private details. Previously, the K-pop store released a statement detailing facts that allegedly accused Hanteo Chart of demanding customers’ personal information to confirm artist album sales. Hanteo Global is the biggest K-pop Big Data company that keeps fans updated with album sales and much more. 

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On September 4, 2024, Ktown4u released an apology for a statement they made on September 2, 2024, regarding the Hanteo Chart. The company acknowledged that the issue stemmed from an overreaction on their part, and they accepted full responsibility for the situation. They expressed deep regret for any problems caused to Hanteo Global and apologized for casting doubt on the credibility of the Hanteo Chart. 

Ktown4u also extended their apologies to the fans affected by the incident. After further communication with Hanteo Global, the store clarified that the misunderstanding arose from confusion over the scope of the information requested. They have committed to maintaining close communication with Hanteo Global to ensure the integrity of data and to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.


Moreover, the K-pop store also emphasized that this situation resulted from their misunderstanding and overreaction and requested continued trust in the reliability and integrity of the Hanteo Chart from agencies, artists, and fans. They expressed respect for Hanteo Chart's 30-year history of providing accurate and trustworthy chart data and reaffirmed their commitment to supporting fair chart practices. 

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Previously, Hanteo Global released a statement to Ktown4u’s claims by stating that they noticed signs of potential duplicate sales counting or intentional inflation of sales figures in the data provided by the store. To ensure the accuracy of their chart, they have temporarily halted the inclusion of data from the K-pop seller.

Hanteo Global later clarified that while they value the privacy of buyers' personal information, they have requested only the necessary details for verification purposes. The company expressed deep concern over Ktown4u's refusal to provide the requested information and their decision to issue a public statement unilaterally.