Police in South Korea allege that the box office figures have been inflated for 323 local films over the past five years.
According to a report by local news outlet Yonhap, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has referred 69 officials from cinema chains and 24 film distributors to prosecutors as part of the investigation.
It is alleged that between March 2018 and June 2023, cinema officials colluded with distributors to enter inflated ticket sales information into the Korean Film Council’s box office information system, with the aim of boosting box office rankings.
Officials said 2.67 million admissions were over-counted. Among the films impacted was Cannes 2021 title Emergency Declaration starring Song Kang-ho, Jeon Do-yeon and Lee Byung-hun.
The investigation was launched earlier this year, when officials visited the offices of leading multiplex chains CJ CGV, Megabox and Lotte Cinema and distributors Lotte Entertainment, Showbox and Kidari Studio.
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