Mnet’s latest idol survival program, 'BOY II PLANET', is once again facing suspicions of vote manipulation, echoing past controversies tied to the network’s audition series.
On September 11, the results of the fourth popularity poll were revealed, showing contestants Kim Jun Min and Chung Sang Hyeon ranking 16th and 17th, respectively. The outcome quickly raised eyebrows among viewers, as many noted the sudden and unexpected drop in Chung Sang Hyeon’s ranking, despite his consistently strong performance in earlier polls.
Korean netizens are speculating that Mnet may be deliberately engineering a narrative arc for the two contestants. Many believe the producers are intentionally keeping them near the cutoff line to build suspense and ultimately secure their places in the final lineup.
Online reactions have been largely skeptical, with several commenters accusing the show of being rigged and calling the company behind it "shameless" for manipulating results once again. Others mocked the program as a "mafia company" project, suggesting the outcome has already been decided regardless of viewer votes.
They commented:
"Didn’t they say it was just 'global'? lol, but yeah it’s basically a signal telling people to vote for those two."
"The 14th and 15th place, they’ll get pushed out and eliminated, just as the PD intended."
"I feel so bad for the trainees who were originally 14th and 15th. Now, they're getting more votes and will take those ranks from other contestants."
"Chung Sang Hyeon was ranked high, so I voted for him every day to attach my pick, wtf."
"Watching today, Chung Sang Hyeon really did badly on stage… still thought he was safe for debut because of his strong core fandom. Feels like the production gave Kim Jun Min a lot of screen time today to save him… he did well on stage, so he’ll probably get a lot of votes. Them revealing those two is just the producers’ scheme to push their ranks up. Honestly, today, the on-site votes for Kim Jun Seo shocked me most. But he got zero screen time lol."
"It’s basically them saying 'save these two' lol. Sad they can’t outright manipulate the votes anymore, so now they’re just begging."
"Mnet, I got your message."
"Doing it this way just screws the trainees right above them… They’re not faking the numbers anymore, they’re just running media play lol."
"Seeing them announce stuff like this because they can’t rig it properly anymore makes me lose interest even more."
"Total PD pick lol."
"Since he got broadcast like that, he won’t get eliminated now lol."
"If this isn’t manipulation, then what is?"
"I guess both or one of them will at least debut."
"They’re trying so hard to save Kim Jun Min lol."
"His agency is Wake One. The PD’s cry to save him lol pathetic."
"Still doing it like this lol. Then the two whose names were revealed will survive, and 14th/15th place is at risk."
"Guess they really want to save them."
"Looks like they’re only revealing the trainees they want to save lol."
"Honestly, when they push someone too hard to debut, I don’t even want to pick them."
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