Woo Jin-yong and Jung Hae-min during finale of 'Physical 100.'

‘Physical 100’: Jung Hae-min Claims Producers Lied About Tampering with Final Match

There was a rumor production intervened with the final challenge on 'Physical 100'. Jung Hae-min gives his side of the story.

by Nicole Weaver

Published on March 1, 2023

2 min read

Jung says he was in the lead and was mentally prepared to win

Jung sat down with King of journalist to talk about the controversy. “How can you lie to a reporter by saying that?” he asked in reference to production’s recent statement.” Talking about things that are not true as facts is itself true?”

This is why he decided to tell his side of the story. Jung revealed that he was beating Woo Jin-yong by a lot to the point where he was thinking about what he’d say in his winner’s speech while pulling the rope.

He said there was a claim about the machine making noise. So they marked the place where they stopped on the rope with tape, then sprayed it to lubricate it.

He claims production ‘lowered the intensity’ of the equipment

Woo Jin-yong and Jung Hae-min during finale of ‘Physical 100’ | via Netflix

But Jung thought there was no sound when you pulled it fast. “Hyung couldn’t turn it well, so the sound came,” the cyclist claimed. There was a rematch, and production “lowered the intensity a bit.”

The reporter addressed people’s comments that someone who pulled 50m of rope would have less stamina to finish than the other person who pulled 30m. “Inevitably different,” Jung said. “But when the game resumed, the intensity was very weak compared to before. The speed with which he came with was faster than before, even though he was in a weak state. He was faster than before and pulled really well.”

The cyclist said when he was told to stop the second time, he was very “annoyed.” He claimed his rope was unraveling too fast and getting tangled. So the finalists moved to a waiting room until they could resume.

Jung said someone later came in and claimed there was an audio issue, and they couldn’t use the recording they had. The person suggested they start from the beginning, and he said no. They then suggested everyone do the quest over again the next day.

Jung says a part of his speech was edited out

The competitor said the person asked him politely. But after multiple times, it was clear he had to do a rematch to finish the show.

The next day they returned, and production said there was no stopping this time. The interviewer asked Jung about the times the rope didn’t move when he pulled it, which can be seen in the episode.

“I don’t remember that,” he said. “But I just feel like I’m pushing the wall. I thought it was a problem because my arm was exhausted. So at that time, I didn’t check whether there was a problem with the equipment.”

He claimed that the staff and other contestants were confused when Jung lost. Jung also said he thanked his future bride and was sad to see that was edited out of the episode.