Members of OMEGA-X have spoken about the abuse they allegedly suffered under the agency SPIRE Entertainment and its detrimental impact on your mental health.
The K-pop boyband held a press conference yesterday (November 16) along with their legal counsel where its 11 members personally aired the allegations of sexual abuse and harassment against the agency’s former CEO Kang Seong-hee, who is accused of “threatening, assaulting, and exploiting” the group members in the past year since their debut.
OMEGA X’s lawyers shared plans to file charges against Kang and revealed that they have requested the annulment of the group’s existing exclusive contract with SPIRE.
The claims about Kang first surfaced last month after the conclusion of OMEGA X’s ‘Connect: Don’t Give Up’ US tour. Korean outlet SBS News posted videos purporting to show Kang verbally abusing and mistreating the members outside the concert hall and in the lobby of his Los Angeles hotel. the band launched a new independent Instagram account shortly after clips went viral, where they claimed they were subject to “unwarranted treatment” by SPIRE.
Kang previously denied the allegations to SBS. SPIRE later issued a formal apology. and simultaneously announced the resignation of the “CEO responsible for this matter.” The company has yet to respond to the latest accusations issued by OMEGA X and its lawyers during the press conference. NME has reached out to SPIRE Entertainment for comment.
At the press conference, the OMEGA X members spoke about how their mental health deteriorated due to the alleged abuse, according to a report from Korean JoongAng Daily, and stated that they believe other K-pop hopefuls and idols face similar treatment behind the scenes.
“I really tried to bear it,” member Hangyeom told the press about the alleged abuse and mistreatment. “Since this was my second debut, I didn’t want the fans to hear the word ‘disband’. So I picked up the phone whenever Kang drunk called me all the time; during our hours and even late at night after work.” (All of the OMEGA X members were in different now-disbanded boy groups before their new debut together.)
“Every time I came home, I was worried that Kang would call at any moment,” Hangyeom continued. “Eventually I couldn’t take it anymore and started going to a psychiatric clinic. In fact, even now, when I hear a phone ring or vibrate, or anything remotely resembling an alarm, I panic. Even before I started psychiatric treatment, I had many times where I couldn’t breathe due to the constant calls and verbal abuse from him.
“Once when another panic attack happened, I told Kang that I couldn’t breathe. He mocked me saying, ‘Oh, are we going to see articles saying ‘OMEGA X becomes a 10-member band because Hangyeom has panic disorder?’ I was surprised by that.”
Other bandmates also alleged that the abuse they faced while under SPIRE’s management did not end with Kang. “Not only Kang, but also the employees and managers yelled insults at us and shot us,” said Jaehan, who is the leader of OMEGA X. “And during the recent world tour, we were also physically assaulted by them.” Yechan also recalled that “another high[er]-even in our agency told us [to] ‘die’ in the group chat while on tour in South America.”
OMEGA X also said that they believe the verbal and physical abuse they faced was not an isolated incident unique to the group or SPIRE. “I know not all agencies are like this, but I think a lot of K-pop trainees and even current idols are being treated unfairly,” Taedong said.
“I was practicing 15 to 17 hours a day without a single day off. They confiscated my phone and forced me to share my passwords,” he alleged of the agency he was at before SPIRE. “There was also abuse at my former agency,” Hangyeom added. “I didn’t get hit, but other members did, in the office or even on tour.”
Following the press conference, the Japanese media company SKIYAKI, which holds the license for OMEGA X’s activities in Japan, announced yesterday that it will stop working with SPIRE in the future. SKIYAKI said that it “has determined that SPIRE… has committed a serious compliance violation. We have decided to terminate our exclusive contract with SPIRE,” the company wrote in the group’s Japanese website. NME has reached out to SPIRE Entertainment for comment.
For help and advice on mental health:
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