Netizens agreed this was a scam.
Koreaboo
Recently, a fan post about DKB’s photo event sparked controversy online.
The fan called out the company for making their own self cut, after only 12 fans showed up to an event meant for 28 people.
28명 당첨되는 포토이벤트에 현장에 참석한 팬은 단 12명뿐입니다. 의자도 28개가 준비되어 있었는데…정작 12명의 팬이 응모한 것일까요? 아니…
누군가 떨어졌고 그 수가 적지 않다는 것입니다. 회사나 판매처의 지시 명단에 16개의 가짜 이름이 추가된 것 같습니다. 팬들이 더 많이 구매하도록 위한… pic.twitter.com/rakKep7adH— 𝟤:𝖳𝖤𝖱𝖭𝖠𝖫ᰔᩚ (@_2ternal_19) November 30, 2025
Only 12 fans attended a photo event where 28 people were supposed to win. They even had 28 chairs prepared…but were there really 12 fans who applied? No…someone got dropped, and the number isn’t small. It seems like 16 fake names were added to the list. Setting a minimum purchase quantity to encourage fans to buy more is understandable. But shouldn’t they do it in moderation? Look at the member’s expressions…Especially Harry June, who just came from ‘Boys Planet 2’…imagine how he must feel…
With this, the fan felt that the company was making their own “self cuts.”
What is a self cut? If 30 winners are chosen, they have to line up 30 people, but the agency creates its own standard and eliminates any fans who bought less than that amount because they assume those who were eliminated will buy more albums at the next fan sign, maintaining the cut limit.
They also stated that agencies sometimes hire part-timers to act as fake fans to compensate for the empty seats, or leave the seats empty entirely. This isn’t the only fandom that has been caught for manipulating lists or vacant seats on-site.
Previously, there was even a case of a fake list of girl group members being included in a male idol’s fan sign event.
However, if the agency denies the claims, it’s difficult to call them out publicly without an investigation.
K-Netizens agreed that this was clearly fraud and needed to be investigated.
- “I think saying that it’s a lottery and just lining them up based on how many albums you buy is a scam.”
- “Scams in K-Pop are so rampant.”
- “Isn’t it a scam if you are chosen yet dropped from the list because of the company’s self cut?”
- “They’re actually scamming fans like this blatantly? This is really bad.”
- “I guess the miracle of getting chosen after buying one album is gone now…”
- “Instead of hoping for new fans to come in, they’re just trying to squeeze the most out of the remaining fans.”
- “Self-cuts are so common that it’s hard for it to become an issue and be made public. Honestly, this is such a serious scam…can’t believe that they can’t fix this problem.”
- “Honestly, this is a fraud. Unless the person who was dropped wasn’t able to go through payment…but having them dropped after getting chosen properly is beyond me. This is just an unbelievable scam tactic.”