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News Story Investigation of the Produce Vote Manipulation Scandal

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News Story Investigation of the Produce Vote Manipulation Scandal

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Popular Kpop YouTuber Rice Squad publishes his feelings on the Produce scandal in a touching video recounting IZ*ONE's history (*Positive Take*)

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Popular Kpop YouTuber Rice Squad publishes his feelings on the Produce scandal in a touching video recounting IZ*ONE's history (*Positive Take*)

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A Story of IZ*ONE - The Last Produce Group

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Soompi, a popular source for english-speaking kpop fans, publishes which trainees were rigged out of the final line ups of the four Korean seasons of Produce (*Neutral Take*)

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Soompi, a popular source for english-speaking kpop fans, publishes which trainees were rigged out of the final line ups of the four Korean seasons of Produce (*Neutral Take*)

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Update: Mnet Releases Statement About Compensation For "Produce 101" Series Contestants Affected By Vote Manipulation

On November 18, the trial of appeals was held for the "Produce 101" series manipulation case.

Previously, PD (producing director) Ahn Joon Young received a sentence of two years along with a fine, and CP (chief producer) Kim Yong Bum received a sentence of one year and eight months. As a result of the trial of appeals on November 18, the court decided to maintain the sentences.

Assistant PD "Lee" and five entertainment agency representatives, who were previously sentenced fines, have now also received prison sentences of eight months suspended for two years.

The court revealed the list of contestants who were eliminated due to manipulation, commenting, "The harmed trainees being revealed through a fair criminal trial can be the starting point towards them receiving true compensation for damages." It has been decided that the contestants who benefited from the manipulation will not be revealed as they were not aware of the manipulation happening, and revealing their names could additionally cause harm to them.

The contestants who were eliminated as a result of manipulation are as follows:

"Produce 101" (first round of voting): Kim Su Hyun, Seo Hye Lin

"Produce 101 Season 2" (first round of voting): Seong Hyun Woo (LIMITLESS's A.M)

"Produce 101 Season 2" (fourth round of voting): Kang Dong Ho (NU'EST's Baekho)

"Produce 48" (fourth round of voting): Lee Ga Eun, Han Cho Won

Actual final ranking: No. 5 Lee Ga Eun, No. 6 Han Cho Won

"Produce X 101" (first round of voting): Anzardi Timothee

"Produce X 101" (third round of voting): Kim Kook Heon (B.O.Y), Lee Jin Woo (GHOST9)

"Produce X 101" (fourth round of voting): Koo Jung Mo (CRAVITY), Lee Jin Hyuk ( UP10TION), Keum Dong Hyun

Actual final ranking: No. 6 Koo Jung Mo, No. 7 Lee Jin Hyuk, No. 8 Keum Dong Hyun

How does this article make you feel?

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Court Reveals "Produce 101" Series Contestants Who Were Eliminated Due To Voting Manipulation

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Update: Mnet Releases Statement About Compensation For "Produce 101" Series Contestants Affected By Vote Manipulation On November 18, the trial of appeals was held for the "Produce 101" series manipulation case.

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Pictured from left to right: Wonyoung and Sakura being announced as the top two candidates. Wonyoung would place first while Sakura would place second. Fans of the show were suspicious of Sakura's rank especially. However, it has still yet to be confirmed.

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Pictured from left to right: Wonyoung and Sakura being announced as the top two candidates. Wonyoung would place first while Sakura would place second. Fans of the show were suspicious of Sakura's rank especially. However, it has still yet to be confirmed.

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Pictured from left to right: Han Cho Won, Miho Miyazaki, Lee Chae Yeon, and Lee Ga eun. Cho Won and Ga Eun were confirmed to have been rigged out of the final line up.

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Pictured from left to right: Han Cho Won, Miho Miyazaki, Lee Chae Yeon, and Lee Ga eun. Cho Won and Ga Eun were confirmed to have been rigged out of the final line up.

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The producers admit to vote manipulation in not just the formation of IZ*ONE, but also the formation of popular groups from the series Wanna One, X1, and fromis_9 (*Neutral Take*)

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The producers admit to vote manipulation in not just the formation of IZ*ONE, but also the formation of popular groups from the series Wanna One, X1, and fromis_9 (*Neutral Take*)

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SEOUL, South Korea -- Producers for a popular K-pop television audition show "Produce 101" were indicted by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office for business obstruction and fraud on Tuesday.

"Produce 101" was a largely popular show on Mnet cable channel, owned by CJ ENM, the largest music entertainment network in South Korea. Four seasons went on air since 2016; "Produce 101", "Produce 101 Season 2", "Produce 48", and "Produce X 101."

The series successfully attracted viewers for its unique way of choosing winners. Television viewers had the privilege of judging contestants in every show by voting online. The final winners were chosen via online voting and mobile texting as well.

However, the show has now turned out to have had rigged voting results.

Ahn Joon-young, producer of all 4 "Produce 101" series, and chief producer Kim Yong-beom allegedly fixed the final vote results to be favorable to specific participants, according to the Prosecutors' Office.

Six others were indicted, including a producer for the program and 5 entertainment agency officials who are accused of bribing Ahn.

Ahn and Kim confessed the fabrication in contestant ranking for seasons 3 and 4 of the show during the investigation, according to Yonhap.

"We deeply apologize to viewers, fans, idol contestants and entertainment agency officials for arousing public criticism for the program. We are cooperating with the investigations and will take stern measures according to results," Mnet said in an official statement regarding the case.

Investigators began looking into the vote-rigging allegations on the program after some fans raised doubts about the vote counts disclosed during the final competition of its most recent season this past July.

"I started having doubts when participants from large entertainment companies were shown more often on the show," Jiyun Choi, who had attended the "Produce 101 Season 2" boyband WannaOne's concert this year, said.

"I felt like my efforts of daily voting was betrayed. I was thrilled to find out that the member I rooted for made the debut team, but now I don't know if it was a fair game," Yooji Jeong, who was a fan of all 4 "Produce 101" series, told ABC News.

The high profile audition show has given life to popular K-pop groups, I.O.I, WannaOne, IZ*ONE and X1 but the latter two groups have stopped performing and touring as controversy has grown over the program.

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K-pop television show producers admit rigging votes

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SEOUL, South Korea -- Producers for a popular K-pop television audition show "Produce 101" were indicted by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office for business obstruction and fraud on Tuesday. "Produce 101" was a largely popular show on Mnet cable channel, owned by CJ ENM, the largest music entertainment network in South Korea.

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Producers of the "Produce 101" franchise arrested, as well as officials from 5 entertainment companies including Starship and Woollim, two of the most prominent agencies in South Korea (*Negative Take*)

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Producers of the "Produce 101" franchise arrested, as well as officials from 5 entertainment companies including Starship and Woollim, two of the most prominent agencies in South Korea (*Negative Take*)

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'프로듀스' 제작진 공소장 입수... 워너원 멤버 1명도 조작으로 밝혀져

Mnet '프로듀스X 101' 안준영 PD와 제작진이 지난달 생방송 투표 조작 혐의로 구속 전 피의자 심문을 받은 뒤 서울중앙지방법원을 나서고 있다. 연합뉴스

인기 오디션 프로그램 '프로듀스' 시리즈로 배출된 아이돌 그룹 아이즈원 및 엑스원 멤버 전원, 워너원 멤버 1명이 시청자 득표수 조작으로 선발된 사실이 검찰과 경찰 조사에서 밝혀졌다.

5일 서울중앙지검이 국회에 제출한 Mnet '프로듀스' 시리즈 제작진 및 연예기획사 대표 등에 대한 공소장에 따르면 김용범 CP(책임 프로듀서)와 안준영 PD 등은 '프로듀스48'로 지난해 데뷔한 아이즈원과 '프로듀스X101'로 올해 데뷔한 엑스원 멤버를 시청자 투표와 상관없이 미리 결정한 혐의(사기 및 업무방해) 등이 있다. 안 PD는 '프로듀스 101' 시즌2로 2017년 데뷔한 워너원 멤버 중 한 명도 득표수를 조작해 데뷔시킨 혐의도 있다.

공소장에 따르면 김 CP와 안 PD 등 3명은 지난 7월 17일 CJ ENM 회의실에서 엑스원 멤버로 데뷔시키고 싶은 연습생 11명과 이들의 순위를 임의로 정해 멤버를 선발했다. 방송 마지막 회 전 실시된 사전 온라인 투표 중간 결과 11위 안에 아이돌 그룹으로 데뷔한 전력이 있는 연습생들이 포함되자, 이들을 제외하기 위해서였다. 김 CP 등은 5월 시청자 온라인 투표와 현장 투표를 조작해 '프로듀스X101' 1차 선발대상자였던 연습생 A씨 대신 B씨를 집어넣기도 했다. 20명을 선발하는 3차 선발에선 같은 방식으로 2명을 바꿔치기한 사실도 조사에서 드러났다.

아이즈원도 시청자 투표 전에 멤버를 정했다. 김 CP와 안 PD 등 3명은 지난해 8월 생방송 투표 전 '프로듀스48'을 통해 선발되는 아이즈원 멤버 12명과 순위를 임의로 결정했다. 김 CP 등은 '프로듀스X101' 때와 마찬가지로 최종 생방송 전 데뷔 멤버 선정을 위한 사전 온라인 투표 중간 결과 아이즈원 선발 순위권이었던 12위 안에 자신들이 원치 않은 연습생들이 포함돼 있자, 이들을 제외시키기로 한 것으로 조사됐다.

워너원 멤버 한 명은 득표수 조작으로 선발됐다. 안 PD는 2017년 6월 '프로듀스' 시즌2 최종 생방송에서 C씨와 D씨의 순위를 뒤바꿨다. 선발 등수였던 11위 안에 있던 C씨는 탈락했고, 11위 바깥이었던 D씨는 워너원 멤버가 됐다. 안 PD는 그해 5월 1차 선발대상자를 선발하며 60위 안에 있던 E씨와 60위 밖 F씨의 등수도 바꿨다. 안 PD는 2016년 2월 '프로듀스' 시즌1에서도 실제 1차 선발 대상이었던 G씨와 H씨를 떨어뜨리고, 다른 두 명을 올렸다.

제작진과 기획사 임원 간 유착도 조사에서 드러났다. 안 PD는 지난해 1월부터 올해 7월까지 서울 강남의 유흥주점 등에서 '프로듀스48'과 '프로듀스X101' 출연 및 유리한 편집을 대가로 연예기획사 4곳의 임원 5명으로부터 총 47회에 걸쳐 술 등 4,683만원 상당의 접대를 받았다. 이에 따라 안 PD는 배임수재 및 부정청탁및금품등수수의금지에관한법률 위반 혐의가 추가됐다.

CJ ENM은 '프로듀스48'과 '프로듀스X101' 휴대폰 문자메시지 투표로만 총 1억2,465만원에 달하는 이익을 취했다.

강진구 기자 realnine@hankookilbo.com
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[단독] 아이즈원ㆍ엑스원 멤버 전원 시청자 투표 전 결정

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'프로듀스' 제작진 공소장 입수... 워너원 멤버 1명도 조작으로 밝혀져 Mnet '프로듀스X 101' 안준영 PD와 제작진이 지난달 생방송 투표 조작 혐의로 구속 전 피의자 심문을 받은 뒤 서울중앙지방법원을 나서고 있다. 연합뉴스 인기 오디션 프로그램 '프로듀스' 시리즈로 배출된 아이돌 그룹 아이즈원 및 엑스원 멤버 전원, 워너원 멤버 1명이 시청자 득표수 조작으로 선발된 사실이 검찰과 경찰 조사에서 밝혀졌다.