SBS has exposed Spire Entertainment for their horrible treatment towards OMEGA X, including forcing the members to perform with COVID-19 and to pay restitution.
In an exclusive report by SBS’s Kang Kyung Yoon, well known for her coverage of the Burning Sun scandal, she has outlined some of the abuse and mistreatment OMEGA X faced at the hands of Spire Entertainment’s CEO Kang Seong Hee.
First, according to the report, Kang Seong Hee got abusive with the members at the Los Angeles concert because they did not read a thank you message posted on the teleprompter and for failing to adequately express their gratitude to the company and the CEO.
Following the concert, Kang Seong Hee grabbed Jaehan, who has symptoms of panic disorder, by the collar at the hotel lobby and pushed him to the floor. Once the video footage of the abuse was released, Kang Seong Hee attempted to shift the blame onto the members.
Not only was Kang Seong Hee confronted by the local police for causing a disturbance in the hotel halls, knocking on Jaehan and the other members’ hotel rooms throughout the night, but she also received immense criticism for having canceled the members’ flight tickets to return home to Korea.
The members of OMEGA X also claimed that there were previous incidents of Kang Seong Hee’s power trip before the group’s overseas tours.
CEO Kang Seong Hee would call me at dawn and talk to me for one to two hours even though it wasn’t time for our practice. She would keep sending KakaoTalk messages, and if we did not reply, she would get furious. The members’ panic disorder symptoms worsened due to this.
— OMEGA X
When the group’s manager attempted to avoid Kang Seong Hee’s messages on behalf of Jaehan, Kang Seong Hee verbally abused the member and told both Jaehan and the manager to “get off the plane” immediately.
CEO Kang Seong Hee (Kang): Manager [Blurred Name], you have caused misunderstandings between the artist and the company with all sorts of lies. You are officially fired, as this is cause for dismissal.
Kang: If you accompany our managing artists, I will file a lawsuit.
Kang: [Blurred Name], get off the plane.
Kang: This is an order. [Blurred Name] and Kim Jaehan get off the plane.
Kang: You will all be penalized for violating orders from the company for getting on the plane. [Blurred Name] and Kim Jaehan get off the plane.
Kang: You two, get off the plane.
Kang: Get off the plane. You two, get off the plane. I’ve made myself clear. Get off the plane.
Kang: You’re not only fired but your contract is also terminated. Get off the plane, both of you. Get off the plane right this instant, [Blurred Name].
Kang: Kim Jaehan, get off.
Kang: Do you think this is a joke?
In addition, it was confirmed that Kang Seong Hee forced the members to perform at their concerts even though they tested positive for COVID-19 and encouraged them to hide their positive results.
On September 28, both Kang Seong Hee and chairman Hwang Seong Woo confirmed that four members with high fevers tested positive for COVID-19 through self-test kits but told the members to hide their results and instead “get [themselves] together” to perform. Two members completed rehearsals but did not perform at the concert due to their high fevers. At the time, OMEGA X was in Chile, where, according to SBS, quarantine guidelines were in place.
Chairman Hwang Seong Woo (Hwang): This is an emergency. Get yourselves together.
Hwang: Members, get your act together and act like professionals. You need a group mentality; that is how you should respond.
Member: Okay.
Hwang: This is how you get real experience. Don’t do things on your own. We’re at war now.
Hwang : We are in Chile right now. This is an emergency crisis. No one is going to help out. Good luck.
Hwang: Members Hyuk, Jehyun, Yechan, and Kevin should perform three to four of the 15 songs and then rest backstage. Jaehan will tell the fans that the four are not feeling well and sincerely apologize to the fans. Then the fans will think it’s okay. Or, [the four] can try to perform the slower songs.
Hyuk: I have a fever and body aches again, though. I’ve completely lost my voice, too.
Hwang: Then, Hyuk, say hello to the fans and stay out.
Kang Seong Hee: If you’re feeling sick, take a hot bath.
Eventually, the four members did not perform at the concert, with only seven out of 11 members going on stage.
Spire Entertainment posted a notice on the group’s fan cafe announcing Jehyun, Kevin, Hyuk, and Yechan would not perform but only stated “a health concern” as the reason. They also noted that the members were “very determined” to perform at the concert.
Four members of OMEGA X are currently receiving psychiatric treatment for panic disorder, anxiety, and insomnia. An official from Spire Entertainment told SBS that the company has officially apologized to the members, and Kang Seong Hee resigned to take responsibility.
It has also been revealed, however, that Spire Entertainment also sent each member a settlement request, demanding that each member pays between ₩300 million KRW (about $222,000 USD) to ₩400 million KRW (about $296,000 USD) in restitution.
Watch the video from SBS below, including Kang Seong Hee screaming at the OMEGA X members.
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