Finally, the investigation has proved that Idol School contestant Lee Hae In was unfairly eliminated from the Mnet's survival show. The show was organized to select members for the idol group fromis_9, but Lee Hae In who ranked No 1 in multiple episodes was eliminated from the show. The chief producer of Idol School, Kim Tae Eun was sentenced to one year in prison on charges of vote manipulation scandals on June 10.
Though it looks like justice has been served, here is a report on how manipulation of votes destroyed the life of contestant Lee Hae In. After ranking 17 in the reality show Produce 101, she made a grand entry into Idol School in 2017. She had ranked number 1 in the first episode and continued to be one of the top contestants for five weeks. But from sixth week her ranking dropped drastically and she was nowhere near the top contestants. At last she was eliminated in the finals. Here is what happened!
What Happened Inside Idol School?
But she was really popular and fans started a petition demanding to know the truth behind Lee Hae In's elimination. Lee Dae In opened up about the show in 2019 and had told that the members of fromis_9 were already decided even before the show ended. Final votes were not even taken into consideration.
The investigation also revealed that the chief producer had decided to remove Lee Hae In from the show despite ranking number 1 because he 'opined' that she did not fit in with the overall vibe of the debut group. It is said that he had asked show's executive production director whether it would be "okay" to eliminate Hae In irrespective of her ranking and the executive production director agreed to the same, resulting in elimination of Lee Hae In.
The instances of partiality did not end here, but after the show, CJ ENM promised to launch Lee Hae In another group called Idol School Class 1. But she was made to wait for one year without any activities and even that turned out to be a lie. In the gap of one year, she couldn't sign any contract with another agency because of the launch promise. But being in dark for one year, her popularity had dropped and she was still not a member of any group and couldn't debut.
The only notable event she attended was Seoul Fashion Week in 2018. But in December 2019 she held her first fan meeting in Seoul. She got to sign with a new agency Big Ocean ENM [previously known as The Groove Company] only in July 2020. Lee Hae In debuted in November 2020 and released her first single Santa Lullaby.
But the reality was said that till recently, is she did not have any money. It is said that she has been working multiple part-time jobs including café, as staff on set, and as a fitting model.
LIGHTSUM Chowon Opens Up About produce 48
Justice was served to LIGHTSUM's Chowon in a different way on June 10. Chowon was found to have been unfairly eliminated from the survival program Mnet's Produce 48 during its final episode due to vote manipulation. But unlike Lee Hae In, she has now debuted with the group LIGHTSUM with their first single Vanilla. In fact LIGHTSUM also consists of Nayoung, and Yujeong, contestants at Produce 48.
According to final votes of the show Produce 48, Chowon was ranked 6 and was eligible to be the member of IZ*ONE. But she was unfairly pushed to the 13th place, and was eliminated from the show.
Speaking about the same, Chowon said, "If I said I didn't feel any sense of loss or dejection back then, I would be lying. In truth, I felt confused and wronged at the time. But I'm very happy and excited to be able to debut as LIGHTSUM with these members now. During Produce 48, the three of us never got to do a stage together. I felt that many people were looking forward to seeing us together, so I worked even harder. I want to repay everyone who waited for my debut with a good stage."
