OMEGA X wins contract termination suit, to file sexual abuse charges next
‘We were able to achieve this thanks to all of you giving us courage and reaching out a hand.’
South Korean boy group Omega X took to Instagram to announce that their injunction to suspend the validity of their exclusive contract with agency Spire Entertainment has been granted, on January 11. “Today, we won the lawsuit we filed against our agency to suspend the validity of our exclusive contract.”, the group wrote. “We were able to achieve this thanks to all of you giving us courage and reaching out a hand.”
The group also thanked their fans for their support.
With the group’s contract annulled, Omega X’s legal team said it will now proceed to filing criminal charges of assault and sexual abuse against Spire Entertainment chief executive officer Kang Seong-hee.
Lengthy legal battle
It all started with an altercation in a Los Angeles hotel on October 2022 during the group’s first US tour. The executive was seen screaming at Omega X member Kim Jaehan and pushing him to the ground, footage of which was released by Korean outlet SBS News. This was corroborated by a fan who provided an audio recording of Kang verbally abusing and manhandling the members.
The agency also reportedly canceled the members’ flight tickets, forcing them to return home at their own expense.
On 16 November 2022, Omega X held a press conference at the Seoul Bar Association alongside their legal representative. Noh Jong Eon, the group’s lawyer, announced that a lawsuit was underway to terminate Omega X’s contract with SPIRE Entertainment.
“The unthinkable has happened in 2022 South Korea. We are currently carrying out a lawsuit to terminate the exclusive contract. Strong measures will be taken including criminal charges and request for compensation,” he said.
For the first time, the 11 members also detailed the verbal, physical, and sexual abuses they allegedly experienced.
“CEO Kang forced me to drink some alcohol after practice and before leaving work, and made sexual remarks. [She] habitually sexually assaulted me by touching my thighs and my face,” leader Jaehan said.
“She [also] made abusive remarks, such as threats of murder. She also made the members tremble with anxiety when she told us that she would make an extreme choice,” he added.
“They said there would be no next album if we refused to attend drinking gatherings,” another member, Sebin, said.
After the incident surfaced online, the members were threatened and sent a certification of content demanding that they settle 300 to 400 million won per person.
Kang denied the accusations in an interview with the New York Times. “I took care of all of them like their mother,” she said. Kang also stressed that Kim Jaehan collapsed on his own in the LA hotel incident.
Spire Entertainment also contested the group’s suit and asked them to give the agency “one more chance;” it did not deny the claims and merely said it was not aware of Kang’s actions. Kang resigned from her post last month, still denying the allegations.
Omega X is an 11-member boy group that includes Jaehan, Hwichan, Sebin, Hangyeom, Taedong, Xen, Jehyun, Kevin, Jung-hoon, Hyuk, and Yechan. The group made their debut on June 2021, following the release of their first mini album VAMOS and Love Me Like’ and full-length album Story Written in Music on 15 June 2022.