TV
There was no manipulation of the finals of ‘Physical 100’
On the 9th, an emergency meeting was held at MBC Golden Mouse Hall in Sangam-dong, Seoul regarding issues related to the finals of the Netflix entertainment show 'Physical: 100'. Executive producer Kim Young-ki and PD Jang Ho-gi attended the event.
'Physical 100', which determines the 'best physical' regardless of weight class, gender, or nationality, rewrote history by becoming the first Korean entertainment show to rank first on Netflix's TV show. However, as much interest as there was, there were many rumors and troubles. Controversy over sexual harassment and drug use arose due to excessive profanity during the broadcast. However, despite this noise, the popularity did not show signs of cooling down, and it ended on the 21st of last month with the victory of Woo Jin-yong, a former snowboarder and CrossFit athlete.
The problem arose even after the show ended. After the announcement of the winner, the finals were held several times due to equipment problems, and suspicions were raised that the winner had been changed, leading to a fierce battle over the truth to this day. Current bicycle racer Jeong Hae-min, who took second place, revealed in an interview with a media outlet that the production team intervened in the finals and re-matches were held twice. Here, Woo Jin-yong raised his hand one of the two times and explained that it was stopped, causing a stir.
In response, the production team released the timeline and claimed that there was no manipulation. Woo Jin-yong also emphasized that he never raised his hand to stop a game, and both times it was an audio problem. Jung Hae-min also did not back down. On the 6th, Jung Hae-min refuted the production team's explanation of the timeline and Woo Jin-yong's claims, saying that they were all false and demanding that the original video be released.
Accordingly, the production team of 'Physical: 100' held an emergency meeting on the morning of the 9th, where the original video was released and the production team gave an explanation.
Regarding the interview with Jung Hae-min, producer Jang Ho-gi said, "Participant Woo Jin-yong raised his hand and raised a problem. The first match was stopped like this. He told the production crew that there was too much noise and claimed a machine defect. Woo Jin-yong raised his hand first. "Many people know this. We want to show the allegations that Woo Jin-yong and the production team are lying," he said, showing a video of the first tug-of-war game.
The released video showed a confrontation between Woo Jin-yong and Jung Hae-min. Not long after the game started, a loud noise began to be heard, and after about 13 minutes, the production team, not Woo Jin-yong, stopped the game.
Producer Jang Ho-gi said, "Both performers entered a slight lull. Then, as the two ropes turned, a huge friction sound continued. The roaring sound was not heard at all during the simulation. The flow of the game should be continued rather than interrupted. "We continued to think about it, but the reason we requested a halt was because we judged that the continuous noise was so severe that it would be difficult to use the footage. We also judged that the large noise during the simulation was continuously growing, which was a sign of a safety accident." explained.
He continued, "More than anything, I thought that if the axis of the rope skein was destroyed and it bounced and rolled towards the contestant, serious injuries could occur. We decided that this was not possible and officially requested a halt. The claim that contestant Woo Jin-yong raised his hand to stop the game is not true. "It's not true. It's not like the game was stopped to influence the game without any special reason," he added.
Taeyuna, Ten Asia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr
