Lately, the South Korean entertainment industry has been abuzz with several controversies. One such incident involved the fourth-generation K-pop boy band Omega X’s Lee Hwi Chan, aka Hwichan, who is one of the eleven members of the group. The Korean singer has been accused of sexual harassment by his former agency, Spire Entertainment.
For those who don’t know, Omega X debuted in the South Korean music industry in 2021, under the agency, Spire Entertainment. Later, in 2023, the group parted ways with the agency as the members alleged that the former CEO, Kang Seong Hee, habitually sexually harassed, physically assaulted and verbally abused the members. In a press conference in 2022, the leader of the group, Jaehan, mentioned:
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“Including touching our thighs, holding our hands, and touching our faces, she habitually sexually harassed us. In addition to regularly saying things like 'If you want to keep doing OMEGA X you better keep crawling, I'm going to kill you', and more verbally abusive words, she made our members shake in anxiety by threatening us that she will commit suicide."
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Recently, this ongoing controversy took a new turn, when the present CEO of Spire Entertainment, Hwang Sung Woo, who is also the husband of the former CEO, Kang Seong Hee, released CCTV footage during a press conference. In the clip, a man was seen sexually assaulting Seong Hee and forcing himself on her. On March 19, 2024, the present CEO released the footage from 2022 and alleged that the man seen in the video is Hwichan, a member of OMEGA X.
Hwang Sung Woo revealed during the press conference that his wife and former CEO of Spire Entertainment, Kang Seong Hee, did not want this footage to come into the public domain. She initially wanted to protect the future of OMEGA X, but following allegations levied against her, she decided otherwise. Sung Woo said that on the day of this incident, he was having a few drinks with the other group members, and his wife was busy due to OMEGA X’s international tours. Further talking about this incident, Hwang Sung Woo stated:
“Because of this incident, the 11 members realised their future promotions were in trouble and started to create reasons. Soon after, they held a press conference claiming they were physically and sexually abused.”
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After this CCTV footage came into the limelight, OMEGA X’s current label, IPQ issued a statement and claimed that the video was fabricated. The K-pop group’s current agency also mentioned that they have asked for the entire footage from Spire Entertainment. Further, they quoted that it was, in fact, Kang Seon Hee, whose behaviour was inappropriate towards the members of OMEGA X. IPQ’s statement can be read as:
“The footage of Hwichan's sexual harassment of CEO Kang Seong Hee is all fake. We have requested SPIRE Entertainment to make public the complete video footage. CEO Kang Seong Hee's persistent demands for affection towards the members were ongoing. As disclosed a year ago, in addition to verbal abuse, physical violence, and harassment, there were evident cases of sexual misconduct. The CCTV footage showing Hwichan touching CEO Kang Seong Hee's breasts is fabricated. The act was essentially coerced since CEO Kang Seong Hee requested that Hwichan show her affection. The statement of relevance does not just come from the member(s), but we are preparing materials to support it. We have, of course, transcripts of discussions in which she repeatedly asked for displays of affection.”
As soon as this news came into the limelight, South Korean netizens took to the community site, TheQoo, and started penning down their thoughts on this incident. One user wrote, “Shouldn’t we look at the context before and after? I think the CEO has a power advantage over the members.” Another one said, “If you don't have a video with audio, just look at the transcripts that have been released so far...” A third netizen mentioned, “I don't even know who it is, but I watched the video, and it said it wasn't forced, but the woman was holding her arm.”
What are your thoughts on this entire controversy involving OMEGA X members and their former agency, Spire Entertainment? Let us know.
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