Controversy Over 'Defective BTS Goods,' BigHit Apologizes Deeply and Promises Full Exchange

"Some Battery Defects Due to Manufacturer Process Issues"
BigHit Expands BTS Fan Merchandise Business Recently
Sales Ratio 17% in 2018 → 30.6% in First Half of This Year

On the 4th, a BTS agency Big Hit Entertainment fan merchandise portable battery was posted on an online community. There appears to be a mark on the surface that looks like rust. / Photo by Online Community Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Big Hit Entertainment (Big Hit), the agency of the group BTS, decided to replace all defective portable batteries sold as fan merchandise (MD) after reports of faulty products emerged.

Previously, Big Hit had been selling official MD sets including portable batteries, photocards, and stickers to commemorate BTS's first online concert 'Bang Bang Con The Live' held in June.

However, some fans who purchased the portable batteries reported receiving defective products. Photos showing batteries with dents or melted, distorted appearances were posted on social networking services (SNS) and internet communities. Some netizens raised safety concerns, questioning, "Is it safe to use since it's an electronic product?" and "I wonder if the product inspection was done properly."

As the controversy over the defective portable batteries grew, Big Hit issued an official notice on the commerce platform 'Weverse Shop' website on the morning of the 8th, stating, "Due to a manufacturing line process issue, some of the battery units were defective," and apologized, "We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to our customers by the shipment of defective products."

They also announced that regardless of the product's external or functional defects, they will replace all units upon the purchaser's request and provided instructions for the exchange process.

They emphasized, "We will do our best to ensure you receive the correct products quickly," and added, "We will strengthen inspection procedures during the official product manufacturing process and make efforts to prevent recurrence."

Meanwhile, Big Hit is expanding its secondary content business such as MD, fueled by BTS's global popularity. According to the securities report recently submitted by Big Hit to the Financial Services Commission, the proportion of MD and licensing sales in Big Hit's revenue nearly doubled from 17% in 2018 to 30.6% in the first half of this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.