Mnet's 'Idol School' Gets Fined by the Korea Communications Standards Commission for Voting Manipulation
Following a meeting, the Korea Communications Standards Commission has decided to fine the Mnet reality survival show.
Keep on reading to know more.
Mnet's 'Idol School' Gets Fined by the Korea Communications Standards Commission
Back on November 8, the Korea Communications Standards Commission (hereafter referred to as KCSC) held a plenary meeting where they discussed the 2017 Mnet reality survival show "Idol School" and SBS Biz's "Live Live Economics, Information Talk Talk."
According to the KCSC, they have decided to fine both of the programs.
"Idol School" is fined following their controversy of arbitrarily changing the calculations of viewers' votes throughout the nine episodes of the show in order to manipulate the results in ranking and discreetly choosing which contestants to eliminate.
While "Live Live Economics, Information Talk Talk" is being fined for broadcasting false information with people who were found to be impersonating farm owners and other experts. According to a report by Newstapa, the reporters themselves had appeared in their own broadcast to create false content.
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Regarding the exact amount of the fine to be issued, the KCSC will determine it during their next plenary meeting after taking into consideration the exact details, content, duration period, and frequency of violations.
The KCSC also decided to issue warnings in 42 other cases, including home shopping channels and other similar broadcast content that could be misunderstood and misled viewers.
Both fines and warnings are statutory sanctions, which will be reflected in the broadcast evaluation report conducted by the KCSC in the future, and will also be used as materials for reviewing the relicensing and re-approval of broadcasters.
Meanwhile, "Idol School" aired back in 2017 and was a survival program between 41 contestants who competed to make it into the nine-member girl group lineup. The show ultimately formed the girl group fromis_9.
Mnet's 'Idol School' Producer Receive Sentence Prison for Manipulating Votes
Back in 2019, an investigation was launched on Mnet's other survival program, "Produce 101," on suspicions of voting manipulation and resulted in "Idol School" being included in the investigation.
Along with the suspicions, several trainees who participated on the show had also come forward to reveal the living and filming conditions they were subjected to, which resulted in numerous health complications among the trainees.
In 2020, the show's chief producer (CP) Kim Tae Eun and planning and production team leader were charged with fraud and obstruction of business.
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During the investigation, it was found that trainee Lee Hae In had actually ranked first place, but was eliminated as she was deemed to not fit the girl group's image. The votings were also reportedly manipulated a total of 233 times throughout the show.
CP Kim Tae Eun was then sentenced to one year in prison, while the planning and production team leader received a fine of 10 million won (around $8,900 USD) for aiding the crime.
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Written by Robyn Joan
