News Detailed report of the Produce controversy (1 Viewer)

[Abeamus]

A report by the news outlet Hankook Ilbo has outlined further allegations about the manipulation of “Produce 101.”

The December 5 report states that the rankings of all members of IZ*ONE and X1 were rigged. In addition, one member of Wanna One reportedly made the final lineup due to ranking manipulation.

The information comes from the written indictment about the “Produce 101” series production team and entertainment agency executives, which assembly person Ha Tae Kyung received from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.

According to the written indictment, people including chief producer Kim Yong Bum and producing director Ahn Joon Young are under suspicion of already deciding the lineups of IZ*ONE and X1, regardless of viewer votes. Ahn Joon Young is also under suspicion of manipulating the number of votes of one member of Wanna One so that he would debut.

It’s reportedly said in the written indictment that on July 17 of this year (two days before the “Produce X 101” finale), three people including Kim Yong Bum and Ahn Joon Young met in a CJ ENM meeting room to decide the 11 trainees they wanted to debut and determine their rankings. It’s described by the Hankook Ilbo report that this was done because they had seen that in the halfway results of the pre-finale online voting, there were trainees who had already debuted in other idol groups in the Top 11 ranking, and they wanted to exclude them.

It’s also reported that the investigation revealed that the May online votes and on-site votes were manipulated so that one trainee who would have made it in the first round ceremony was actually eliminated, and another trainee was selected instead. In the third round that determined the Top 20, it’s said that they used the same method to swap two people.

The members of IZ*ONE were also reportedly decided before viewers even voted. Kim Yong Bum and Ahn Joon Young decided on the 12 members and their rankings before the voting in the August 2018 live finale. As with “Produce X 101,” they saw that the pre-finale online votes included trainees they did not want in the Top 12, and so they determined the lineup while excluding those trainees.

It’s reported that one member of Wanna One was also chosen because of the manipulation of the number of votes. It’s described that Ahn Joon Young switched the rankings of two trainees in the June 2017 live finale of “Produce 101 Season 2.” A trainee who was in the Top 11 did not make the debut lineup, and instead a trainee who was outside of the Top 11 became a member of Wanna One.

In addition, Ahn Joon Young reportedly switched the rankings of two trainees in the May 2017 first round of “Produce 101 Season 2” that decided the Top 60, thereby eliminating a trainee who should have continued in the competition and boosting someone else.

He also reportedly did the same in the February 2016 first round of “Produce 101,” eliminating two trainees who should have continued and increasing the rankings of two other contestants.

The collusion between the production team and executives at entertainment agencies was also revealed in the investigation. From January 2018 to July 2019, Ahn Joon Young received drinking entertainment services 47 times in total, amounting to 46.83 million won (approximately $39,340), paid for by five executives from four entertainment agencies. The services were paid for in exchange for arranging appearances on “Produce 48” and “Produce X 101” and editing favorably.

Hankook Ilbo reports that CJ ENM made a profit of 124.65 million won (approximately $104,710) through text message votes from “Produce 48” and “Produce X 101.”

Source​

 

[blueberries]

I hope the trainee who got dropped by Wanna One will get serious compensation.

This is all so messed up. If you don't want people who debuted already in the final group make rule against it. Don't have them working desperately to earn second chance. And you can affect to so much with editing too, but even that wasn't enough and they just wanted to decide it all making the show just promotion of the members they had already planned debuting.

 

[jasque]

Knetz will quickly find these idols names and it'll turn ugly...

 

[PrideInBaek]

I was just reading this. If the reports are true, damn everyone was rigged in the final groups from even before the show began! Not only did they not consider the choice of the national producers, they also had them pay for the votes! It's a scam. A complete fraud. Since I religiously followed the second season, I wonder who that one person is.
if any of these is found true, X1 and IZ*ONE need to disband. No questions asked.

 

[PrideInBaek]

I wonder if the current members knew...

 

[Abeamus]

I hope the trainee who got dropped by Wanna One will get serious compensation.

This is all so messed up. If you don't want people who debuted already in the final group make rule against it. Don't have them working desperately to earn second chance. And you can affect to so much with editing too, but even that wasn't enough and they just wanted to decide it all making the show just promotion of the members they had already planned debuting.

For Wanna One I think it depends who it was as it could have been a Nu'est member that Pledis asked to be taken out if they got in but if it is not that then they definitely should.

 

[blueberries]

For Wanna One I think it depends who it was as it could have been a Nu'est member that Pledis asked to be taken out if they got in but if it is not that then they definitely should.

Ah yea, i forgot that. If it's NU'EST member and it was asked by Pledis it makes sense and I can't be too mad for that. It worked out well, though i still think they definitely shouldn't have done that. Better to play by the rules. But if it's someone who rly wanted to be in the group but the pds just didn't like that's messed up.

At this point it might be best to not say who ended up making it in the group instead.

In terms of IZONE and X1, that does seem quite unfixable what comes to lineups. If it was situation like Wanna One's case where there were just swaps in the end, then they should let those members to be in the groups.. at least X1, if they wanted.

 

[dooh]

i really dont see IZ*ONE & X1 surviving this mess 😔😔

 

[blueberries]

i really dont see IZ*ONE & X1 surviving this mess 😔😔

They got really greedy. They had good thing going on, but they wanted more, power, bribes, determined success.. They switched one member, maybe it wasn't planned out until the final voting. Then they realized they could get away with deciding whole group and decided to run with it. Meanwhile accepting bribes from the companies. I wonder if they even considered their house of cards could crumble some day and it could destroy all that they had.

 

[Abeamus]

Ah yea, i forgot that. If it's NU'EST member and it was asked by Pledis it makes sense and I can't be too mad for that. It worked out well, though i still think they definitely shouldn't have done that. Better to play by the rules. But if it's someone who rly wanted to be in the group but the pds just didn't like that's messed up.

At this point it might be best to not say who ended up making it in the group instead.

In terms of IZONE and X1, that does seem quite unfixable what comes to lineups. If it was situation like Wanna One's case where there were just swaps in the end, then they should let those members to be in the groups.. at least X1, if they wanted.

They still definitely should not have done it because in that scenario the person who was put in place of that member now has a rigged position in the group or if Produce didn't just put in the 12th spot then it could've been the 20th spot because they liked them.

Yeah I don't think there is a fix for Iz*One or X1 especially X1 since they had to save a pick from being eliminated in round 1.

 

[blueberries]

They still definitely should not have done it because in that scenario the person who was put in place of that member now has a rigged position in the group or if Produce didn't just put in the 12th spot then it could've been the 20th spot because they liked them.

Yeah I don't think there is a fix for Iz*One or X1 especially X1 since they had to save a pick from being eliminated in round 1.

Yea they definitely shouldn't. I can see that it wasn't full on malicious if it's case of one of NU'EST members, but still wrong. And whoever got added.. if that gets out their career is screwed.

 

[Abeamus]

Yea they definitely shouldn't. I can see that it wasn't full on malicious if it's case of one of NU'EST members, but still wrong. And whoever got added.. if that gets out their career is screwed.

Yeah and one interesting thing left out of this report is the lack of I.O.I even though he admitted to rigging Season 1 so did they rig the positions in Season 1 and not the members or was that part false?

 

[yeji]

It‘s good that more and more closure is happening. I just hope that the idols themselves won‘t recieve much hate

 

[JakeyWantsCakey]

For Wanna One I think it depends who it was as it could have been a Nu'est member that Pledis asked to be taken out if they got in but if it is not that then they definitely should.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they swapped out Jonghyun for Minhyun tbh...

 

[Abeamus]

I wouldn’t be surprised if they swapped out Jonghyun for Minhyun tbh...

That'd be a twist, I don't know how Knetz would react in that scenario Hell idk how i'd react

 

[JakeyWantsCakey]

I feel the worst for that one dude in Wanna One. At least with Iz*one & X1 they’re all on equal footing and no one is the odd one out...

 

[RandAlThor]

The crazy thing is, its the live text voting that is the wild card. Stressing because a person has a spot in the early vote is super silly.
Unless the early vote numbers are much much higher than they were saying.

BTW those 3 ppl need jobs cuz they put together good groups :)

 

[RandAlThor]

I feel the worst for that one dude in Wanna One. At least with Iz*one & X1 they’re all on equal footing and no one is the odd one out...

if it was a pledis dude it worked out for the best better to keep 4 and have the group also be successful.

 

[RandAlThor]

Also i do not begin to believe that the only ep they played with in 48 was the finale.
the voting during the show was like each ep had different people voting. Which we all know is not true, there is a solid core that never varies.

 

[RandAlThor]

I was just reading this. If the reports are true, damn everyone was rigged in the final groups from even before the show began! Not only did they not consider the choice of the national producers, they also had them pay for the votes! It's a scam. A complete fraud. Since I religiously followed the second season, I wonder who that one person is.
if any of these is found true, X1 and IZ*ONE need to disband. No questions asked.

disbanding serves no one but haters.
Keep the groups going, pay all finalist a share(ie what the members were contracted for.)