"Produce 101 Season 2" participant Jung Dong Soo, also known as ARKAY, has spoken after hearing about the vote-rigging that took place in the show.
On that same day, he informed that news outlet SBS FunE, "I had heard stuff, and I had my suspicions, but I am disappointed after knowing about the reports stating that the trainee's rankings had been manipulated."
Jung Dong Soo continued, "Seeing the news about the controversy made me look back in the past; I also considered how the people surrounding me had been in pain and had smiled and cried over my results, and I was furious for plenty of reasons."
In the second season of "Produce 101," Jung Dong Soo was able to become in second place in the vocal position challenge but got eliminated after being ranked at No. 36, which is only one ranking below the final list of the trainees who made it to the concept evaluation round. During his final speech in the show, he stated, "Everything is upsetting since this was my last shot at becoming an idol."
Moreover, Jung Dong Soo also told SBS FunE, "I am not sure if my real ranking was low or high, but one thing I know for sure is that all of the trainees who competed in the show are wholly genuine. That's the most disappointing part. All of us really did our best, so that's why the reports gave me quite a shock."
After competing in "Produce 101 Season 2," Jung Dong Soo became half of a duo called AA along with his fellow competitor and label mate Kim Nam Hyung, and they have been launching their self-written songs.
Recently, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency revealed that all seasons of the "Produce 101" series had vote manipulation. At first, producing director Ahn Joon Young admitted to rigging the votes of "Produce 48" and "Produce X 101," now the police revealed that the production team was the one who manipulated the results of the first two seasons. Following the reports about this, Mnet released a statement apologizing and saying that they are preparing the compensation for damages as well as the measures to prevent this kind of situation from happening in the future.
