PRODUCERS OF ‘PRODUCE X 101’ ARRESTED

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Two producers of a famous audition show have been arrested for alleged vote rigging. The scandal has caused public outrage, because it was the viewers who were supposed to choose the winner of the audition. An investigative committee comprising viewers has issued a statement demanding that CJ ENM, the organizer of the show, take responsibility for vote rigging.

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This audition show earned popularity for allowing viewers to choose promising musicians by casting their votes through text messages.

[Soundbite] PARK CHAE-WON(SEOUL RESIDENT) : "I invested a lot of time in voting. I was moved to tears when the contestant I voted for made it to the final round."

M.net's audition programs such as Superstar K and the Produce series contributed greatly to raising the popularity of M.net, previously known only as a music channel. Viewers especially highly credited the show for its fairness in evaluating contestants. However, they lost trust in fairness after the arrest of the show's producers revealed collusion between talent management agencies and broadcasters.

[Soundbite] SUNG YU-RIM(SEOUL RESIDENT) : "It's non-sense. On TV it appeared as if everything was transparent, whereas in fact the winner was predetermined."

Viewers who cast their votes feel especially betrayed.

[Soundbite] CHOI MIN-TAE(SEOUL RESIDENT) : "It was frustrating to hear that my efforts were in vain. My friends feel the same."

An investigative committee comprising the audition show's viewers has issued a statement calling for CJ ENM to disclose data on voting and take responsibility for vote rigging.

[Soundbite] KIM TAE-HWAN(LAWYER OF INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE) : "CJ ENM must be held liable for everything. It has profited the most from the audition shows and idol groups that debuted on those programs."

The dreams of aspiring singers who hoped to make a name for themselves on the famous audition show were dashed by corruption.