On February 27, 2026, new court transcripts from the Min Hee-jin vs. HYBE case were released. As soon as they hit the internet, K-pop fans started arguing again. The fight is about a very old topic: album sales. Specifically, people are debating which sales numbers are “real” and how they should be counted. In South Korea, court records can be shared with the public after some time has passed. Fans quickly translated the documents and shared screenshots, which immediately started a new wave of drama on social media.
The court documents describe a practice called “push-out” sales involving roughly 500,000 albums. The core allegation is that companies artificially inflate early sales figures by shipping massive quantities of albums to retailers. These numbers appear impressive at launch, but they do not represent actual consumer demand. Once the initial hype period ends, any unsold inventory is simply returned to the company, revealing that the high sales figures were largely manufactured.
Difference Between Push-Out and Sajaegi
“Push-out” refers to shipping or buying massive amounts of albums with the option to return them later. This tactic inflates first-week sales figures to generate positive headlines. Once the publicity dies down, the unsold stock is returned, reversing the initial numbers. To many fans, this practice is functionally identical to “sajaegi,” the industry term for manipulating charts and sales data.
But the wording matters. Push-out can be framed as a distribution or contract setup. Sajaegi implies intentional fraud in game charts. That gap is exactly why online debate is so heated right now.
What the Court Documents Specifically Say
The court records show that 140,000 albums were sold with return options in 2023. These were split into two batches of 70,000 copies each. A HYBE Japan executive even used the exact term “volume push-out” in an email from August 2023.
HYBE performed an internal review after these issues surfaced. They admitted to finding return-condition sales and later tightened their rules to prevent it from happening again. Some fans see this as an admission of guilt. However, HYBE maintains publicly that they did nothing wrong.
Min Hee-jin Refused Push-Out For NewJeans Album
The court documents mention NewJeans specifically. They claim there was a suggestion to release the group’s albums using a “push-out” strategy. The goal was to ship 100,000 extra copies just to help the group break an initial sales record.
According to the documents, ADOR and Min Hee-jin rejected the “push-out” suggestion. An April 2024 statement shows they refused based on their “business philosophy.” They asked for a full investigation and better transparency. The records frame this as an order from higher-ups at HYBE that ADOR actively pushed back against.
What are the Coded Albums (CA–CE)
Other reports discuss five anonymized items labeled CA through CE. The records show data for “initial stock,” “stocks requiring return,” and “returns in progress.” These lists suggest that hundreds of thousands of albums were affected by these return-heavy practices.
However, the main problem is that these records do not name the artists for items CA–CE. Any social media posts linking specific groups to those codes are just guessing. So, without actual evidence or clear details, those claims are not facts.
Public Reaction and the Business Fallout People are Projecting
The leaks have divided fans. Some argue that this is standard industry practice, while others feel this case is different because it is now documented in court. Online discussions show a growing distrust of record-breaking sales numbers. Many fans are now questioning whether impressive chart performances actually match a company’s real financial success.
