Chapter 509: Side Story 1. Idol Maker 99 (2)

Side Story 1. Idol Maker 99 (2)

Controversies over fairness in survival competition programs are nothing new.

Rumors circulated everywhere that judges favored trainees from certain agencies or that one could be selected by giving money to the PD.

So, the solution Idol Maker chose was to have viewers vote directly instead of judges. In other words, the viewers become the producers who select the idol members.

This method was well-received, and Idol Maker recorded unprecedented hits in the history of survival competition programs, continuing up to season 5, and copycat programs sprang up everywhere.

Of course, everyone thought that while there might be some pushing for certain trainees in the process, the voting itself would have been fair.

But the fact that the voting results were manipulated was truly beyond imagination.

Jung Han-soo proposed a hypothesis.

"Could it be that the rankings were decided from the beginning?

They set the vote percentage for each trainee, and multiplied the coefficient for each rank by a constant derived from dividing the total votes by 0.04. That's why the same vote difference appears repeatedly, and the vote difference becomes extremely small in the lower ranks."

"What about the possibility that they did it for convenience of tallying?"

"They could make that excuse. We'll only know for sure if we check the original data."

Everyone looked incredulous.

"Wow, really? Is this for real?"

"Even if they rigged it, why did they do it this way?"

"This is so obvious that even an elementary school student could notice something strange just by tapping on a calculator for a moment."

"They could have just used a program to generate random numbers."

The manipulation was so sloppy that it was hard to believe.

But people lie, numbers don't.

Someone said.

"Shall we look up data from previous seasons too?"

"That would be good."

"Let's check the voting results for every episode."

They skipped dinner and analyzed voting data across all seasons.

The results were shocking. It was discovered that manipulation was carried out in the same way in all five seasons of Idol Maker so far, not just this one.

"In season 3, the constant comes out as 6358. But only for 17th place, it comes out as 6538. Why is this?"

"It just looks like a fat-finger error. They made a typo while inputting."

If they had just switched the rankings of one or two people to debut them, there might be room for extenuation. But if the entire program was manipulated, the situation becomes serious.

This isn't a problem that will end with a few people involved getting fired.

"Why did GJ Media do this?"

"They wouldn't have manipulated the rankings just because they were bored."

"Something must have gone back and forth with the agencies."

"What will happen if we announce this?"

"It'll be chaos."

"GJ Media will take a significant hit."

"They won't go bankrupt, right?"

"They won't go bankrupt, but their stock price will plummet. All competition programs will be abolished immediately, and they'll be plagued by compensation lawsuits from everywhere."

GJ Media owns about 20 cable channels and is the strongest player in the media industry, encompassing movie, music, and performance businesses.

However, its influence was gradually shrinking due to the expansion of OTT platforms like A-Tube and Netplay. Therefore, recently, it was seeking to transform its business from a content platform to a content creator.

The Idol Maker series is one of its most representative contents.

With a plan to generate revenue by directly raising idols using the platform, they joined hands with several agencies and invested billions to produce it, and fortunately, it was a huge success every season.

Such idol production programs can generate advertising revenue while airing and promotional effects even before debut. Afterward, they can share performance and music sales revenue with the agencies, killing two birds with one stone.

As the Idol Maker series gained popularity, large agencies also actively sent out their trainees.

If the manipulation turns out to be true, not only GJ Media but also the related agencies, and furthermore, the Korean entertainment industry would be turned upside down.

Someone said cautiously.

"Anyway, GJ Media has the original data, and they will never disclose it. Even if we raise suspicions, won't they just talk to the media companies and cover it up appropriately?"

"It might be different if it were someone else, but if the Vice President takes issue with it, that's another story. No matter how much GJ Media is a large corporation and a big hand in the media industry, they are nothing more than a mom-and-pop store compared to OTK Company."

"That's true."

At that moment, something occurred to Jung Han-soo.

"Wait a minute. Why did the Vice President order us to investigate this?"

His senior, Baek Jong-hoon, said.

"He said it earlier. Because Rina failed."

"That's just a superficial reason. Would he really gather us to find evidence of vote manipulation just for that reason?"

Hearing that, Baek Jong-hoon realized something.

"D-don't tell me he intends to completely reorganize the domestic entertainment industry with this incident!?"

"That's exactly it. If you look at OTK Company, they own Edm Entertainment domestically, and they also own Lets, an automotive OTT that comes standard with Karos OS."

"As expected! He wasn't doing this just because the trainee he voted for failed!"

It was a misunderstanding.

He was doing this strictly because the trainee he voted for failed.

But those who had no way of knowing the truth could not help but admire him.

'To think the Vice President had such a terrifying scheme!'

'As expected, being the Vice President of OTK Company isn't for just anyone.'

I almost believed it simply.

Oh! Vice President.

Jung Han-soo continued.

"We need to examine all the broadcasted programs, analyze the vote percentages announced in each episode, related articles, posts, comments, etc., to confirm who was eliminated and who benefited. And we also need a thorough analysis of the impact this incident will have on the entertainment industry in the future."

At those words, an employee named Kim Min-hyuk took out his smartphone with a surprised expression.

"What's wrong?"

"Ah! I have some GJ Media stock, so I'm going to sell it quickly."

At that moment, Jung Han-soo came up with a good idea.

"This isn't insider information; we found it out by analyzing it ourselves. So it doesn't matter if we trade with this information, right?"

At those words, everyone's eyes lit up.

The market must be fair to investors. It is strictly illegal for executives, employees, or major shareholders to trade stocks using undisclosed information.

Insider trading is rarely caught, but if caught, not only do you get punished, but you also get fired from the company.

But the people gathered here are neither insiders nor did they steal information from insiders.

Although it is undisclosed information, since it is information obtained through direct analysis, it has nothing to do with illegality.

Someone said a word.

"It would be foolish to stay still when an opportunity to make money is right in front of us."

Without anyone saying who should go first, they all took out their smartphones and turned on their MTS.

***

I met an employee named Jung Han-soo, who works as a quant at Golden Gate, with Taek-gyu.

He handed over a report with a face that looked like he hadn't slept for days.

"As you can see, it has been confirmed that extensive manipulation took place not only this season but across all seasons. Since they set the vote percentage for each trainee and multiplied it by the total number of votes, a constant vote difference appears repeatedly for each rank."

"What is the probability that this is a coincidence?"

Jung Han-soo said firmly.

"The probability of a plane being assembled by shaking parts in a sack would be higher."

I was surprised.

"Was the voting really rigged?"

Taek-gyu said as if it was obvious.

"See. I told you it was rigged."

He looked at the data and said.

"There is another strange point."

"What is it?"

"In the case of online voting conducted on the homepage for this season, voting is only completed when you click on 11 out of 99 people. Therefore, the total number of votes must have 11 as a factor, and if you divide by 11, the number must fall exactly."

"That would be right."

"But according to the data here, the total number of votes on the homepage is 5,050,557, and if you divide by 11, you get a decimal point. This itself doesn't make sense."

I was even more dumbfounded.

"Even if they rigged it, they did it this sloppily?"

"We also found that strange, but it seems to be the case."

Taek-gyu ground his teeth.

"I knew it. To think these bastards dropped Rina from the debut group with such dirty manipulation. That's why Rina failed even though I sent text votes that cost 100 won each so diligently."

"We checked by watching all the broadcast programs, and there are more than a few trainees whose rankings are presumed to have been switched."

I scanned the report.

It was organized clearly, detailing how the manipulation was carried out, which trainees and agencies benefited, and what impact this incident would have on the market.

I don't think even a corporate analysis report would be made this diligently.

I closed the report and asked him.

"Did you make some profit while analyzing this?"

He gave an awkward smile.

"I think I will start making it from now on."

Taek-gyu nodded with satisfaction.

"That's good."

***

The 11 trainees selected for the debut group in Idol Maker 99 Season 5 became an official girl group.

In the future, under the support of GJ Media, they will appear on various music programs and advance into the Japanese, Chinese, and Southeast Asian markets.

But at this point, something unexpected happened.

Chairman Yoo Byung-moon, who received a report from Lee Young-chae, the head of the planning and coordination office, shouted in anger.

"OTK Company raised doubts about the Idol Maker 99 voting results and requested the disclosure of the raw data?"

Chief Lee Young-chae nodded.

"Yes. They say they will announce the suspicions if we refuse."

Chairman Yoo Byung-moon was dumbfounded.

"No, why is OTK Company interested in an idol competition program?"

Chief Lee Young-chae said cautiously.

"Could it be that CEO Kang Jin-hoo is still angry about that incident?"

"That incident? You mean because of Jin-wook?"

Chairman Yoo Byung-moon has a youngest son named Yoo Jin-wook, born out of wedlock.

He was famous in the business world as a libertine. Using his position as the son of the GJ Group chairman and the head of the entertainment general team, he forcibly molested women dreaming of debuting in the entertainment industry.

Although there were problems a few times because of that, Yoo Byung-moon covered it up using money and power each time.

Then, of all things, he did something stupid to Kang Jin-hoo's girlfriend. As soon as that fact became known, the large corporations that gave advertisements turned their backs all at once.

To calm Kang Jin-hoo's anger, Chairman Yoo Byung-moon had no choice but to make his youngest son turn himself in to the police, and Yoo Jin-wook confessed to the crimes he had committed so far.

Since there were so many victims, the settlement took time and the trial dragged on. Yoo Jin-wook's side deliberately did not defend actively. They were concerned that Kang Jin-hoo would be angry if the punishment was light.

After a long trial, a sentence of 3 years in prison came out in the first trial. A lot of time has passed since then, and Kang Jin-hoo seemed to be no longer interested.

He recalled the visit with his son a while ago.

Even if they are prisoners in the same detention center, the treatment of the poor and the rich is different. Unlike other inmates, he lived in a solitary cell and met with lawyers every day.

But no matter how comfortable the detention center is, it's worse than living in a goshiwon.

He cried and shouted to his father who came to visit.

'If I stay here for another month, I might hang myself! Get me out quickly, Father!'

Seeing his youngest son, whom he cherished dearly, looking haggard, his heart ached as if it were tearing apart.

He comforted his son and said.

'I entrusted the defense to Jung & Kim and formed a defense team with former judges and prosecutors. Just endure a little longer.'

Since the settlements with the victims were all finished and petitions were received, the sentence could be reduced to probation in the second trial.

"It seems he noticed that we are trying to get the team leader out in the appeal."

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Chairman Yoo Byung-moon said with a hardened expression.

"Then is this incident a warning from CEO Kang Jin-hoo to punish Jin-wook strongly?"

"It must be. Otherwise, there is no reason for OTK Company to take issue with just the vote manipulation of an idol competition program."

"I suppose so."

If this warning is ignored, who knows what will happen next. Perhaps the entire group could disintegrate.

Kang Jin-hoo had the money and power to do so.

No matter how lovely his youngest son is, he is not more precious than the group.

Chairman Yoo Byung-moon said, as if sighing.

"Contact Jung & Kim and withdraw all of Jin-wook's defense team."

"All of them? Then what about the defense?"

"Just tell them to appoint a public defender."

"Understood."

Neither Chairman Yoo Byung-moon nor Chief Lee Young-chae could imagine that the Vice President was doing this because the trainee he voted for had failed.