It has been reported that the police have secured an audio file that directly mentions the manipulation of votes in the final broadcast of Mnet's "PRODUCE X 101".

On the 19th, JoongAng Ilbo reported that it was confirmed that a recording file directly mentioning manipulation was found on the mobile phone of a production staff member, which was secured by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Cyber Investigation Unit last month.

Previously, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency conducted a search and seizure of CJ ENM's offices and the text vote data storage company, and secured a recording file that directly mentioned the investigation at the time. On the 12th, a second search and seizure was conducted on CJ ENM's offices and production staff.

The police had accused the Mnet production staff of announcing the contestants' rankings in a way that differed from the actual numbers based on manipulated vote results, thereby obstructing CJ ENM's business.

Suspicion of manipulation arose for "PRODUCE X 101" when an analysis was posted online during the final live broadcast in July, stating that the difference in votes received was a multiple of a specific number. The production staff announced that there was an error in the vote count transmission process but that the final rankings did not change, yet the suspicion did not subside.

Subsequently, Mnet requested an investigation into the program's production staff after an internal investigation, causing further controversy. Additionally, 260 general viewers formed a Truth Investigation Committee and filed a complaint against the production staff and their affiliated agencies on charges of fraud and obstruction of business by deceit.

These are English translations of articles from our GTTOUR Japanese website.