CORTIS is once again at the center of a heated online debate after the rookie boy group achieved massive album sales, only to face growing accusations of “inflated” excessive numbers and practices of bulk purchasing.
The controversy erupted shortly after CORTIS released their second mini album GREENGREEN next to the title track “RED”. According to first-week sales data released on May 10, the group sold approximately 2.313 million copies during its debut week, immediately placing them among the best-selling fifth-generation K-pop groups thus far.
While initially the result seemed to confirm CORTIS as HYBE’s next “newbie monster”, the staggering sales numbers quickly triggered skepticism in Korean and international online communities.
On several popular Korean forums, viral discussion posts questioned whether the group’s real-world popularity truly matched its album sales performance. Some netizens pointed out that some offline events, including reservations for the group’s pop-up stores, reportedly did not sell out as quickly as expected compared to other groups with similarly massive fandoms.
Others also noted that CORTIS had recently lost online fan voting competitions to bands with significantly lower physical sales, leading some viewers to question how the group managed to surpass 2 million album sales so quickly.
The debate intensified further after a video began circulating on X showing large quantities of CORTIS albums stacked near waste disposal areas before being hauled away.
The footage immediately reignited conversations about K-pop’s long lifespan “bulk purchase” cultural, where fans or distributors purchase huge quantities of albums primarily to gain access to fan sign events, collectible photo cards, or chart results rather than for actual music consumption.
@coerlil #cortis #greengreen #coer context: @coerlil: OKAY, THIS WAS IN New York, HELLO82. Me and my friends went to visit Cortis and from the store we saw all these albums without PCs, I don’t know why or how it was there but I guess they wanted to collect the PCs and left the album there in the garbage
♬ where are you to the lullaby – ٴ
Many critics argue that such practices create misleading sales statistics and contribute to significant physical waste.
Some online commentators even referenced past controversies involving alleged “decorated” accusations: Korean term referring to manipulation of charts or sales. Although no official evidence of illegal activity involving CORTIS has been presented, the group’s explosive growth has nevertheless made some netizens suspicious.
Comments circulated online included reactions such as:
- “If the fandom was really big enough to sell over 2 million copies, audiences wouldn’t be so shocked.”
- “Seeing albums piled up next to garbage bags is disturbing.”
- “Since the company has already faced controversies related to sales, people naturally become suspicious.”
However, many fans strongly rejected the accusations and defended CORTIS.
Supporters argued that the group’s online popularity is clearly visible through rapidly growing engagement on YouTube, TikTok and other social platforms. Fans have also pointed to the large number of reaction videos, streaming metrics, and global fan discussions as evidence that the group truly possesses tremendous momentum among younger international audiences.
Others argue that bulk purchasing is already deeply ingrained in K-pop fandom culture and should not be used solely to target CORTIS when many top-selling artists benefit from similar fan-driven purchasing systems.
The controversy once again highlighted the growing debate over K-pop’s obsession with record numbers and statistics. As album sales across the industry continue to reach historically unprecedented levels, many audiences are becoming increasingly skeptical that physical sales alone still accurately reflect true mainstream popularity.
Despite the criticism, CORTIS continues to maintain strong momentum globally. The group recently became one of the fastest rising rookie artists under HYBE, with “RED” achieving excellent results on streaming platforms and in international charts.
For now, neither HYBE nor CORTIS have publicly addressed the allegations online.
