OMEGA X vs SPIRE Trial: Agency says it was guilty of verbal abuse, address flight cancellation issues, and more

December 7 marked the first day of the much-anticipated OMEGA X and SPIRE Entertainment’s legal trial. The 11-member K-pop idol group sued the agency for their mistreatment and abuse, along with filing a case against former CEO Kang Seong-hee.

As per SBS News, who reported on the outcome of the first day trial, SPIRE Entertainment agreed that there was no denying about the verbal abuse, as they were the “creditors” and the group “the debtors.” The agency’s legal representatives also mentioned that there was no justification for it.

“We aren’t denying that we, as creditors, cursed at the debtors. Although we could never justify the verbal abuse, we would like to state that there were various circumstances surrounding the incident.” (Translation via Koreaboo)

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First day of OMEGA X vs SPIRE Entertainment trial concludes, agency asks for “one more chance”

After a witness revealed shocking audio of a SPIRE Entertainment employee screaming and pushing OMEGA X, it opened the conversation of trainees’ and idols’ exploitation at the hands of K-pop agencies. The issue grew bigger as more witnesses and exposés were released, along with the members themselves holding a press conference confirming their abuse.

OMEGA X, along with their legal representatives, appeared at the Eastern District Court in Seoul on December 7, which was the first day of their trial against the agency. As per SBS News, the agency requested the idol group to give them one more chance. They were also asked to maintain the contract.

One of the major asks of OMEGA X was to terminate their exclusive contract with the agency. In order to get them back, SPIRE Entertainment reportedly stated that they will get new staff members for them.

The agency also denied claims of canceling their flights after the final Los Angeles leg of their world tour. The flights were scheduled for October 23 local US time as the concert wrapped up on October 22, 2022. However, it was on the same day that an individual posted an audio recording of their verbal and mental abuse.

SBS News had then reported that the company had purposely canceled the idols’ flight tickets. They reportedly flew back to South Korea on their own money. SPIRE Entertainment denied this and claimed that there were no available seats. In response, OMEGA X’s representatives shared that CEO Kang threatened to cancel their tickets.

Meanwhile, the agency also claimed that CEO Kang and OMEGA X shared a “special relationship.” Similar to the CEO mentioning that she took care of the idols "like a mother," the agency stated that the members would often call her “mom” and even tell her that they love her.

“OMEGA X members had a special relationship with Director Kang and would call her ‘Mom’ and told her they loved her.”

Moreover, SPIRE Entertainment added that they were unaware of the abuse caused by CEO Kang and hoped to clear up the misunderstandings and work together again.

“The company was not aware that Director Kang had cursed at the members. The company hopes that implementing corrective measures will clear the misunderstanding among members, and (both sides) will be able to trust each other once more.”

However, the idol singers iterated that their trust has been “irreparably broken by the (company’s) verbal abuse, physical assault, inappropriate requests (forcing the members to consume alcohol and s*xual harassment), etc.”

The Seoul court ordered both the idol group and the agency to submit additional documentation, including exclusive contracts and consignment contracts. Twitter user @hwicetag mentioned the difference between the two contracts below:

OMEGA X must submit their documentation by December 14, 2022 and SPIRE Entertainment by December 21. The next trial date will be decided at a later date.