“Physical: 100” Winner Woo Jin Yong Responds To Jung Hae Min’s Interview About The Show’s Alleged Manipulation
A week after the grand finale of the Netflix hit series Physical: 100, an exclusive report by the Korean press Ilyo Shinmun alleged the finalists’ rope-pulling match was manipulated—wrongfully crowning contestant Woo Jin Yong the winner instead of contestant Jung Hae Min.
While the production team at MBC denied all allegations, Ilyo Shinmun slammed the show again with an exclusive interview with Jung Hae Min, confirming that the match was tweaked to Woo Jin Yong’s advantage.
Woo Jin Yong Might Not Be The “True Winner” Of “Physical 100” — Finalist Jung Hae Min Tells All
I was going to accept everything. I even felt physically in pain when I heard about how the other cycling athletes were being criticized online because I had lost. However, due to the global attention that Physical: 100 received, even though I felt that things were a little unfair, I thought that if I had kept quiet, then the other participants would not be affected. But then, after I saw that the suspicions were being raised, I gained courage. Finally, when I saw how the production team had stated on February 26 that there was no rematch at the final game, I began to think about if I should talk about my POV. Then, on the morning of the 28th, I saw a post that the PD for Physical: 100 had posted. “I will protect the past year that we sweated buckets and sacrificed our entire body for. Even if lies can become famous, ultimately, they cannot become the truth.” That was when I made my decision. I wanted to talk about what is the truth and what is a lie, from my POV.
— Jung Hae Min
Following the latest development, winner Woo Jin Yong has taken to his Instagram and responded to the online backlash toward the show and himself.
Woo Jin Yong posted a screenshot of the written records of the details of the rope-pulling match recorded on July 20, 2022—which the production team revealed via YTN Star.
[JULY 20, 2022]
6:35PM Last match between finalists Jung Hae Min vs. Woo Jin Yong begins.
6:45PM First interruption
Both ropes continued making loud noises. Considering how the noise coming from contestant Woo Jin Yong’s rope was feeding into the mics, the production team deemed the recording unusable. The production team asked the match to be stopped so the audio and equipment can be checked. Contestants remained in their positions while on break. The noise was confirmed to be coming from a part installed to stop the barrels from falling apart as the ropes turn. Both equipment were lubricated.6:55:44PM The match resumed from where it was left off.
— Woo Jin Yong
In the caption, Woo Jin Yong emphasized that he was not the one who asked to stop the match.
Hello, this is Woo Jin Yong.
I’m posting this in hopes of letting people know the truth about the final match of ‘Physical: 100.’
Not too long ago, via YTN Star, the production team shared a timeline of events based on the original footage and audio files. And I believe this timeline aligns with what happened.
It is not true that I raised my hand and stopped the match.
Only a few minutes into when the final match began, my equipment began making loud noises. Regardless, I continued pulling the ropes to the best of my abilities. It was the production team that stopped the match.
Again, it is not true that I was the one who asked for the match to be stopped.
Once the match was stopped, the production team worked on both equipments to minimize the noise. Both equipments were lubricated (with WD) and checked before the match was resumed.
I played that match by the rules and gave it my best. Yes, there were interruptions to the match that was completely unexpected to the production team, contestant Jung Hae Min, and myself—and so the match didn’t go as smoothly as we anticipated. But the truth is that I never made any requests to win the match in an unfair manner.
Competing in ‘Physical: 100’ as a part of the 100 contestants was a valuable experience for me. Watching my fellow contestants push their absolute limits, I was moved by the level of dedication they had. I also developed a lot of respect toward the contestants who excelled above and beyond what I can do. I have no doubt that we all tried our best and we all took the matches seriously. And I feel inevitably responsible for how this controversy has potentially distorted the genuine efforts that the contestants made on ‘Physical: 100.’
The series ‘Physical: 100’ was, from the start, based on sportsmanship—the idea of competing at our extremes and accepting the outcomes. I know the viewers fell in love with the series for that reason. And so I promise to stay true to those values. Thank you for reading.
— Woo Jin Yong
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