Writer Lee Ki-joo Allegedly Bulk-Bought About 1,600 Copies of Follow-Up to 'The Temperature of Language' Nationwide, Shocking

[Financial News] Writer Lee Ki-joo, author of 'The Temperature of Language,' which sold 1.7 million copies, was indicted on suspicion of bulk-buying a book he published in 2024.
According to a report by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) on the 9th, prosecutors indicted Lee and a publishing company representative for allegedly conspiring to manipulate bestseller rankings from March through July 2024.
In January 2024, Lee released a new essay collection, 'Words of Banality.' As the follow-up to 'The Temperature of Language,' which had previously become a million-selling book with 1.7 million copies sold, it drew considerable attention from readers. It ranked as the 12th best-selling book at Kyobo Book Centre during the first half of that year.
However, manipulative bulk purchases were allegedly behind the ranking. Lee allegedly paid the representative of a publishing company that had previously published his books and had the representative purchase copies of his book at Kyobo Book Centre stores nationwide.
To avoid suspicion, the publishing representative reportedly made additional purchases after bookstore employees changed shifts. The representative also allegedly damaged the packaging to make the books appear to be defective copies being purchased.
The representative also exploited a loophole by making purchases as a nonmember, taking into account that Kyobo Book Centre counted multiple copies of the same book bought by a member on the same day as sales of only one copy.
Prosecutors found that approximately 1,600 copies had been purchased in this manner, accounting for about 14% of total sales during the entire period of the alleged scheme.
Prosecutors said the book’s category-specific bestseller ranking at Kyobo Book Centre rose from around third or fourth place to around second or third place.
The scheme came to light after the publishing representative who allegedly participated in the bulk-buying voluntarily reported it to the Publishing Distribution Review Committee.
Prosecutors determined that the two had conspired in the alleged scheme because they believed the promotional effect of rising on the bestseller list would be greater than that of spending money on advertising.
After news of the indictment became public, Lee removed all the videos previously posted on his YouTube channel.
[email protected] An Ga-eul Reporter