JTBC's new audition program 'Project 7' sparked controversy over its audience identity verification process, as it excessively required personal information. Some fans criticized it as overbearing.
The 'Project 7' team addressed the issue upon learning of the controversy and conducted a fact-check. On the 4th, they released an official statement saying, "A misunderstanding occurred," and apologized, "We are sorry that some audience members felt uncomfortable."
Fans who attended the recording recently posted reviews on X, expressing dissatisfaction over excessive demands such as ID cards, addresses, Kakao and Naver certificates, unpublished selfies, cards, and property registry copies.
The production team explained, "Since the first round of competition involves on-site voting, identity verification procedures were necessary," and admitted, "Although there might be inconveniences due to the verification process, we had informed attendees of the reasons beforehand."
The verification process disclosed by the production team consists of three steps. First is filling out a consent form and checking IDs. The team explained, "Most audience members completed the verification at the first stage and were admitted."
The second step was required if there was a discrepancy between the ID and the applicant's date of birth, which involved verifying the audience member's address or phone number. The third step included additional mobile certificate verification or photos.
The production team confirmed, "There was about one case that reached the third step." They stated that it was not an instance experienced by many audience members.
They further explained, "Previously, the production team directly managed the entry of the audience, but for this event, due to the excessive number of applicants, we outsourced entry management to a company that handles audience management for other survival shows."
Lastly, the team added, "'Project 7' is a program created with the power of World Assembler," and assured, "We will be more cautious to prevent such misunderstandings in the future."
Meanwhile, 'Project 7' is a boy group global audition program presented by JTBC. It promotes itself as Korea's first assembly-enhanced audition concept.
It moves away from the observer perspective where fans only participate through voting, allowing them to directly select participants in each round from the first vote. Fans can form teams and nurture their favorite participants.
'Project 7' premieres on the 18th at 8:50 PM.
<Photo Courtesy=JTBC>
