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| A scene from Netflix's survival show "Physical: 100" / Courtesy of Netflix |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
In response to weeks of rumors that the final challenge of Netflix's survival show "Physical: 100" was rigged, the show's producers said the claims are "untrue." The production team held a press conference on Thursday, where raw footage of the final match was revealed.
This comes after Jung Hae-min, the runner-up of "Physical: 100" accused the production team of intervening in the final match, resulting in an unfair win for his opponent, Woo Jin-yong.
In the final match, cyclist Jung and cross-fitter Woo faced off in a rope-pulling challenge, where they had to pull on a heavy rope from an enormous spool until one of them reached its end.
Jung claimed the rope-pulling challenge was repeated three times. According to him, the first interruption came after Woo raised his hand to stop the game. Minutes after the game resumed, however, the production team paused the game again.
Producer Jang Ho-gi of "Physical: 100" refuted Jang's claims, saying that Woo never raised his hand in the middle of the game. It was their decision to halt the game because there was too much noise coming from the two contestants' rope machines.
"The first interruption was caused by a loud noise from the pulley. It made recording impossible to use. We were also worried about the safety of the players. As soon as both machines were lubricated and checked, the game continued," he said during a press conference.
"The second interruption was due to the ropes around Woo's machine being tangled, which prevented the wheel from turning. Following these two incidents, we discussed with both contestants the possibility of a rematch. We gave them several options, including restarting the game a few days later, but the two agreed on having the rematch the same day."
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| Producer Jang Ho-gi of Netflix's "Physical: 100" / Courtesy of Netflix |
Jang apologized to the show's cast members and viewers for the broadcasting accident.
"We apologize to cast members, especially Woo and Jung, and viewers for the way the broadcasting error was handled. However, we never attempted to manipulate the result or advantage a particular player," he said.
The producer also responded to criticism over fairness.
"I understand that the production team should have informed viewers about the reason the final match was stopped twice," he said. "However, our decision was not to mention the matter since explaining it would be difficult. This is regrettable for us."
"Physical: 100" has topped the Netflix Global Top 10 Non-English TV chart for two consecutive weeks, but it has been embroiled in multiple controversies including a female contestant allegedly being a school bully and a male contestant being arrested for assaulting his girlfriend.
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