LE SSERAFIM's "Music Bank" score that led to their victory over Lim Young Woong is currently being investigated by the police to determine whether it was manipulated.
Read on to obtain further details.
LE SSERAFIMs 'Music Bank' Win Over Lim Young Woong Currently Under Police Investigation
Earlier this month, KBS's "Music Bank" was embroiled in a controversy due to the shocking broadcast score they gave to Lim Young Woong on its May 13 episode.
At that time, the candidates for first place were Lim Young Woong's " If We Ever Meet Again" and LE SSERAFIM's "FEARLESS." "If We Ever Meet Again" was in the lead in terms of digital performance and album sales, but the latter eventually won due to the big difference in their broadcast scores (LE SSERAFIM gained 5,348 points, while Lim Young Woong got 0 points).
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"Music Bank" rankings are determined 60 percent by digital scores, 20 percent by broadcast scores, 10 percent by viewer panel surveys, five percent by social media scores, and five percent by physical album sales. Considering this, Lim Young Woong's fans were baffled as to how a song that was leading in the score with digital points could only take second place due mainly to its broadcast score.
Hence, they demanded an explanation from KBS.
On May 18, KBS released an official statement regarding the matter by explaining that LIm Young Woong's "If We Ever Meet Again" received a 0 broadcast score because it was not played on any KBS TV programs, radio shows, or digital content during the track week of May 2 to 8.
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However, Dispatch issued a report to reveal the opposite of what KBS said. The media outlet stated that "If We Ever Meet Again" had, in fact, been played on KBS radio stations several times during the tracking week.
In particular, Lim Young Woon's new song was played on May 4 during the KBS radio programs "With Kim Hye Young" and "Seol Bam with Park So Hyun," and on May 7 during "Lim Baek Chun's 100 Music."
KBS responded to Dispatch's report by saying, "The radio broadcast score is calculated using only seven KBS Cool FM radio programs. Aside from these seven shows, other [KBS radio] programs do not factor into our scores."
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As speculations of rigging steadily grew, a civilian ultimately filed a complaint with South Korea's Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission alleging that "Music Bank" tampered with Lim Young Woong's broadcast score.
On May 29, the police verified that the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul had received the complaint and had started investigating the issue.
"As the accusations have not yet been confirmed, we currently plan to investigate by speaking to the complainants and more," the police said. "If the allegations of manipulation are found to be true, we will switch to a full-scale investigation."
What are your thoughts on the LE SSERAFIM's "Music Bank" win over Lim Young Woong being under police investigation? Do you think it's necessary? Leave a comment down below!
LE SSERAFIM's 'FEARLESS' Continues to Soar High on Korean Music Charts
Amid the controversy concerning LE SSERAFIM's "Music Bank" score, the rookie girl group's debut song consistently secures high positions on Korean music charts.
As of 8 a.m. KST on May 30, LE SSERAFIM's "FEARLESS" ranked No. 3 on Bugs, No. 10 on MelOn, No. 11 on Genie, and No. 15 on FLO. The track's unique listeners on MelOn also continue to increase, surpassing 217,000 listeners as of 8 a.m.
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Written by Maria Scott
