Dispatch Reveals Analytic Results of ZEROBASEONE Kim Jiwoong's Controversial Video Call

Earlier in February 2024, ZEROBASEONE‘s Kim Jiwoong was accused of having cursed at a fan during a video call fan meeting.

ZEROBASEONE’s Kim Jiwoong Allegedly Caught Cursing After A Video Call With A Fan “Ends”

The video clip of the idol saying goodbye to the fan, then when the video call “ends,” saying “Shibal“ (or “F*ck), went viral on X (formerly Twitter)—eventually becoming controversial enough that ZEROBASEONE’s management, WAKEONE, had to respond amid massive demand for the idol’s removal from the group.

Jiwoong1 — ZEROBASEONE’s Kim Jiwoong | *Dispatch*

In the following weeks, as WAKEONE warned in their response, the video clip was reviewed to confirm whether Kim Jiwoong, in fact, cursed at the fan or not. Dispatch then revealed the results of the voice analysis, claiming the cursing voice did not match the idol’s voice.

Jiw1 — “The voice behind *‘Shibal’* is different.” | *Dispatch*

According to Dispatch, the analysis was performed by the Korea Forensic Science Service (KFSS), a private consulting firm operated by a “Dr. Lee” who has over 30 years of experience working at the South Korean governmental National Forensic Service as an analytic specialist).

Jiw6 — “Analysis Report” from February 6, 2024, issued by KFSS. | *Dispatch*

[Analysis Report]

Ordered: February 5, 2024
Issued: February 6, 2024

Client: WAKEONE
Represented By: Law Firm Se Jong

Summary: The pitches in the video may have been altered.
The curse word is recorded from an external voice.

Materials:
A. A video file including the visual of the situation and the audio of the curse word in question.
B. A CCTV file showing the fan meeting situation recorded in Material A.

Goals:
A. Analyze the voice in Material A.
B. Analyze the authenticity of Material A and whether the curse word has been edited in.
C. Analyze whether the voice “cursing” and the voice saying “Thank you” are the same voice.
D. Analyze whether Material B has verifiable footage of the person in Material A saying the curse word in question.

The KFSS two materials: The audio from the video clip and the CCTV footage from the event. KFSS analyzed three parts of the audio extracted from the three-second video sized 95.6MB, shared to Twitter by the Original Poster (OP): Part A (F1-F5), when “Thank you” can be heard, Part B (F6-F8), when “Shibal” can be heard, and Part C (F9-F12), when “How weird” can be heard. Then, KFSS compared the three-part audio to the visual recorded in the CCTV footage.

Jiw2 — The three parts from the Original Poster’s video. | *Dispatch*

According to the KFSS, “Part A” comes from one person—Kim Jiwoong. The CCTV footage confirms that Kim Jiwoong is the voice in the video, too.

It can be assumed that the audio recorded belongs to the person in the CCTV footage. [Kim Jiwoong’s] mouth moves in accordance to the formant (acoustic resonance) derived from Part A.

— Dr. Lee

As for “Part B” and “Part C,” though, KFSS stated that “It is impossible to confirm whether Kim Jiwoong is the person behind the voice(s)” in Parts B and C. In addition, because the OP’s video does not provide visual for Parts B and C, KFSS concluded that it is not verifiable whether the voice(s) in Parts B and C belong to Kim Jiwoong.

Further analysis shared that the frequencies in Parts A to B and B to C are different. While the transitional pitches in all three parts were not distorted, meaning that the audio was not altered and was recorded in one continuous take, the frequencies in the three parts were different, meaning that the audio included multiple voices.

Jiw4 — “Conclusion: Different speakers, different voices.” | *Dispatch*

In other words, KFSS concluded, “It seems that the speaker of Part A and the speaker of Part B are different.”

The movements in the OP’s video and the movements of the subjects in the video suggest that there are multiple devices being used to record the interaction. Based on the analysis of such factors, Part B seems to have been inserted into the audio from an external voice.

— Dr. Lee

As for the CCTV footage, KFSS stated that another member’s head was blocking Kim Jiwoong’s face, so Parts B and C could not be matched to any mouth/lip movements. However, Dispatch added that, in an interview with a “Staff Member” who was present at the video call, it was clarified once again that Kim Jiwoong did not curse.

Jiw5 — A screenshot of the CCTV footage that was sent in for analysis. | *Dispatch*

According to Dispatch, there was one staff member assigned per group member while running the video calls. “Staff Member D,” a representative of the record label, was assigned to Kim Jiwoong. “Staff Member D” sat across from Kim Jiwoong as he went through the video calls. “Staff Member D” was wearing an earphone connected to the device that Kim Jiwoong was using, listening to the contents of the video calls alongside Kim Jiwoong in real-time (to provide interpretations and/or additional assistance as needed). “Staff Member D” told Dispatch that they had no recollection of Kim Jiwoong cursing.

I don’t remember the specifics of the call that the OP had with Kim Jiwoong. But I can guarantee that Kim Jiwoong did not curse. I did not hear him utter such a thing. And the other members were all doing their own video calls next to Kim Jiwoong. It was not the place or time where Kim Jiwoong could have cursed, even if he wanted to (and I’m not insisting that he would’ve wanted to). He did not curse, I did not hear it.

— Staff Member D

The OP has previously insisted that the video is real and that “it is true Kim Jiwoong cursed [at them].” They have not since responded to the Dispatch report on KFSS’s voice analysis results.