MBC has revealed through an exclusive report that one of the 10 people booked for their role in the ongoing Produce series voting manipulation scandals was the Shin Hyung Kwan, head of Mnet and vice-president at CJ ENM.
Shin Hyung Kwan, who is considered the godfather to audition programs, recently had his office raided in a search and seizure. Police have secured a number of materials related to Mnet’s various audition programs, including computers and hard drives. They booked Shin Hyung Kwan as a suspect in order to obtain the warrant required to conduct the raid.
Police are currently trying to focus on the high-ranking officials at CJ ENM who were involved in the vote manipulation, following the arrest of the show’s PD, Ahn Joon Young, and the show’s CP, Kim Yong Bum.
Shin Hyung Kwan is regarded as a key contributor to the founding of Mnet, and was promoted to the position of Head of CJ ENM Music Content in 2018. This position is considered the #2 position in the company. Prior to his promotion, he was the head of the content division.
Furthermore, Shin Hyung Kwan is in charge of all of the audition programs, including the Produce series and Idol School, both of which are under intense scrutiny for their voting manipulation allegations.
Police will continue to look into the allegations against Shin Hyung Kwan, as they are focusing on the possibility that he is heavily involved in the ranking manipulation due to his frequent communication with the production team. They will analyze the data that they seized from his office, and summon him if the allegations are confirmed.
