Netflix withholds US$224,000 prize money from The Influencer winner for leaking result

South Korean content creator Oking, who won the recently-concluded Netflix reality game show The Influencer, will not be awarded his 300 million won (US$224,000) prize money. The 31-year-old, whose real name is Oh Byung-min, had reportedly leaked the show’s results to an acquaintance sometime in May.
Spanning seven episodes, The Influencer pits 77 of South Korea’s most popular influencers against each other in a series of missions to determine “the greatest influencer”.
Other contestants include actor Jang Keun-suk and influencer Jung Ji-woo, the sister of BTS member J-Hope.
Early this year, before The Influencer’s debut, Oking was involved in a public conflict with the former CEO of blockchain platform Winnerz – a Mr Choi – over allegations of scamming.
The back-and-forth culminated in an Instagram post in May where Choi revealed that, during a previous house visit, Oking told him that he had won The Influencer despite being aware of the confidentiality clause.
Speaking to South Korean media outlets on Wednesday (Aug 21), Netflix said of its decision: “In order to maintain the credibility of the show and fairness among the participants, we will not pay the prize money to the winner of The Influencer who violated the confidentiality obligation in the participation contract.
“Keeping the related information secret before the show is released is important to ensure that the hard work and effort of everyone involved bears fruit…This is a promise between all the production staff and cast members who wish for the success of the work.”