Mnet explained the meetings producers held with the agencies of eliminated 'Produce x101' trainees.



According to reports on July 26, 'Produce x 101' producers are alleged to have given eliminated trainees the opportunities to debut with project group X1 following the recent vote rigging allegations. Though Mnet has already provided an apology and explanation on the issue, the network has revealed an investigation into the vote rigging allegations is in the works.



Media outlet Maeil Business then reported a high-level staff member at Mnet had met with the agencies of 9 eliminated trainees and allegedly stated that if the trainee did not agree with the finale results, they would be included in the X1 lineup. The network staff member is also alleged to have said Mnet would support it if the eliminated trainees created their own group. However, it seems all the labels have rejected the alleged offer.



One anonymous label stated, "If we accept the offer, it would seem like we acknowledge there was vote manipulation and that we accept it, so we turned it down," while another agency stated, "This is a plan that would hurt the eliminated trainees as well as the trainees debuting with X1. This would confirm the final episode as unreliable."



However, Mnet has denied the reports, stating, "We met with agency reps to explain we'll be requesting a formal investigation into the vote rigging controversy. At the meeting, we heard their opinions on how we should deal with it if the investigation finds there was an unexpected victim. If it was a conciliation, that would mean we decided on the conditions and prevented them from speaking, but that's not true." The rep continued, "We asked for opinions from the agencies about what to do if an unexpected victim is found and whether they'd want to be included in X1 or debut in another group." As for the label responses, the Mnet source stated, "Each label had different opinions."



Mnet concluded, "The most important thing is the trainees and agency staff members are not affected negatively. We hope there won't be a misunderstanding due to exaggerations."

