Wavve’s documentary “Predators: Cyber Wreckers, A Record of War” has finished its run at the top of the platform’s current affairs category, holding the No. 1 spot for paid-subscription sign-ups for a second consecutive week, according to a report by MHN Sports.
The documentary, known in Korean as “Posikjadeul,” kept its leading position in Wavve’s current affairs genre from October 19 to October 25, MHN Sports reported on October 27. Its viewer ranking also climbed two places from the previous week to reach No. 1, the report said. The figures cited are Wavve’s internal category rankings as reported by MHN Sports, rather than an industry-wide audience measurement.
The result caps a short run. Wavve released the first two episodes on October 16, and the final two episodes on October 23. On its release day, the series ranked second across all genres for new paid sign-ups on Wavve and first in the current affairs genre, according to MHN Sports. The outlet noted that it was only the second documentary this year to rank near the top of Wavve’s main indicators, following “Cult Hunter” in May.
“Predators” examines so-called cyber wreckers, a Korean term for online creators accused of profiting from sensational claims about public figures, and follows people who say they were targeted by such channels as they try to rebuild their lives. The production team told MHN Sports in a written interview that the project took more than two years from planning and funding to completion, and that it was struck by a recurring pattern across several cases, as well as a gap in speed between rumor and verification.
“Allegations spread in a matter of days, but verification took years,” the producers said, in remarks quoted by MHN Sports. They added that clicking and sharing a video can itself make a viewer part of the ecosystem the documentary examines, urging audiences to think about the wider media environment.
The first two episodes open on the day of a court hearing concerning Kim Se-ui, head of the YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute, and then turn to two people who say they confronted that channel. Reporter Kang Kyung-yoon, who first reported on the Burning Sun case, described becoming a target herself while covering singer Kim Gun-mo. Businessman Eun Hyun-jang described a company with about 10 billion won in sales collapsing after he became entangled in claims about remittances to North Korea and stock manipulation, according to the documentary as summarized by MHN Sports.
The documentary also revisits the sexual misconduct allegations raised against Kim Gun-mo in December 2019, noting that the case was cleared with no charges in November 2022. Eun Hyun-jang is shown launching his own channel to track Kim Se-ui and buying a stake in the channel’s operator, leading to a management dispute, before being shown in tears at news of Kim Se-ui’s detention.
Episodes three and four, released on October 23, focus on extortion and on the people the series calls survivors. One strand covers creator Tzuyang, who has said she was threatened with the exposure of her past. The documentary features testimony from Jeon Guk-jin, known as “Fake Detective,” who was convicted in connection with the case, and from Tzuyang’s lawyer Kim Tae-yeon, according to MHN Sports. An investigation team leader is quoted as saying that an arrest warrant was sought after investigators obtained video linked to a payment of 150,000 US dollars to the late YouTuber Kim Yong-ho, though that case ended without prosecution following Kim Yong-ho’s death.
The final episodes also cover the dispute surrounding actor Kim Soo-hyun. The documentary presents Garosero Research Institute’s claims, made at a press conference, alongside counterclaims presented at a separate press conference by Lee Jin-ho and Eun Hyun-jang, who argued that a recording at the center of the dispute was fabricated and that a photograph had been taken from the internet. MHN Sports reports that Kim Se-ui was detained on charges of spreading false information related to Kim Soo-hyun. This article reports those claims and counterclaims as presented in the documentary; it does not treat either side’s disputed assertions as established fact.
The series also looks at what it calls secondhand reproduction by media outlets that repeat unverified claims, and at a punitive damages system for spreading false information that passed in July. Reporter Kang Kyung-yoon is quoted as calling the current situation transitional, while Eun Hyun-jang and members of the group Omega X are quoted urging viewers to question provocative videos rather than being swayed by them.
Independent coverage before the finale supports the series’ basic shape. Sports Kyunghyang reported on October 12 that Wavve would release the first two episodes on October 16, while Kbizoom, citing Daum, later previewed episodes three and four, titled “Extortion” and “Survivors.” The full series is available on Wavve, according to MHN Sports.
