'Boys Planet' has been embroiled in manipulation controversy about 6 years after 'Produce X 101'. This is because it was revealed that Kim Gun-woo and Kang Woo-jin, who appeared as individual participants, were trainees under Wake One, a subsidiary of CJ ENM.
Wake One stated on their official website on the 21st, "Recently, there have been posts regarding our company and our trainees circulating in online communities, and we would like to share our position," and added, "Kim Gun-woo and Kang Woo-jin, who are participating in 'Boys Planet' as individual participants, are currently trainees under Wake One."
It was explained that Kim Gun-woo applied for 'Boys Planet' before signing a trainee contract, and Kang Woo-jin, aiming to become a singer-songwriter, had a different musical concept from existing trainees, which led him to participate as an individual contestant.
Wake One stated, "This decision was made considering the individuality and musical concepts of each trainee, but ultimately caused confusion and concern for the production team, viewers, and fans," and announced, "After a long discussion, Wake One has decided to terminate the trainee contracts with Kim Gun-woo and Kang Woo-jin through mutual agreement."
However, the perception towards them is not favorable. 'Boys Planet' features a total of 160 participants, the highest number in audition history, combining K Planet and C Planet. Given the limited broadcast time, it is indeed difficult to spotlight all participants.
At a previous press conference for 'Boys Planet', CP Kim Shin-young addressed concerns about not being able to show all 160 participants, stating, "I have a message for the participants. If your character shines, you will appear a lot on the program, and if not, you may not be featured on the broadcast. That is the standard for airtime."
Kim Gun-woo was introduced as the K Planet center in the first episode of 'Boys Planet', taking up a significant amount of airtime. Additionally, Kang Woo-jin garnered attention with his narrative of hesitating to challenge himself as an idol due to a lack of confidence in dancing but not wanting to give up.
Of course, as CP Kim mentioned, Kim Gun-woo and Kang Woo-jin may have had more airtime because they are attractive participants. However, the fact that they were trainees under Wake One, a subsidiary of CJ ENM, contradicts their introduction as 'individual participants', making them unable to escape suspicions of 'favoritism in airtime'.
Moreover, Mnet suffered a significant blow to its credibility due to the vote manipulation controversy in the past 'Produce' series. The PD An Joon-young, who directed the program, was prosecuted for manipulating paid text vote results to favor specific candidates in all seasons and served a two-year prison sentence. Given this history, they should have been more cautious, but they failed to do so.
It has not been confirmed whether the production team of 'Boys Planet' was aware in advance that Kim Gun-woo and Kang Woo-jin were trainees under Wake One. Even if Wake One unilaterally deceived the production team, they cannot escape responsibility for not carefully checking the participants' backgrounds. Moreover, they are trainees under a subsidiary of CJ ENM.
In any case, since Wake One has stated that Kim Gun-woo and Kang Woo-jin will continue to participate as individual contestants, it is presumed that discussions with the production team have been completed. As viewers' standards for Kim Gun-woo and Kang Woo-jin are expected to become stricter, it remains to be seen whether 'Boys Planet', which has been embroiled in 'manipulation controversy' from the first broadcast, can continue its journey well.
[Lee Da-gyeom, Star Today Reporter]
