Omega X’s claims of abuse bring to light industry-wide issues

After boy band Omega X dropped some bombshell allegations of abuse against its agency Spire Entertainment last week, many K-pop fans were left feeling disturbed that such physical and verbal violence is still taking place in the industry.

During a press conference on Nov. 16, Omega X’s 11 members revealed shocking accusations that the CEO of their agency and his wife would physically, verbally and sexually abuse them almost on a daily basis for a year. The last straw that made them seek legal help was when the CEO’s wife reportedly hit and hurled insults at the members after the boy band’s Los Angeles concert last month, footage of which was captured by a fan and started circulating online.

Conditions have generally improved over the decades’ thanks to precedents and changes in legislature, and as K-pop grew into a booming worldwide business. Nonetheless, repeated scandals related to abuse show that the industry still has a long way to go.




Outraged, but not surprised

One common reaction from the general public and critics alike toward the Omega X press conference was disbelief that such alleged abuse could happen in 2022. But many, although angered, are aware that there have been numerous cases of agencies abusing and even physically injuring their artists in recent years alone.

In 2018, boy band TheEastLight revealed that their agency’s CEO and producer had been abusing them for four years, from forcing them to smoke cigarettes to assaulting and choking them. The members disclosed graphic photographs of their injuries over the years, and the producer and CEO were respectively sentenced to 16 months in prison and 8 months in prison, the latter suspended for two years, in 2020.

Two then-underage members of boy band TRCNG sued its agency TS Entertainment in 2019 for child abuse and assault, claiming they were frequently beaten and even hit with a chair, resulting in a trip to the emergency room. The case was forwarded to the prosecutor’s office in 2020 and the lawsuit is ongoing.

This April, a head of an agency was also sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, after assaulting a female singer under his firm for two hours and breaking her nose.

The extensive list of similar cases — which almost always includes disputes about financial compensation, as does Omega X’s allegations — shows these are not isolated incidents.

“These cases are not rare; I’ve personally took on some cases or heard from colleagues,” said Omega X’s attorney Roh Jong-eon, who has also represented the surviving family of the late Goo Hara of girl group Kara and currently represents TV personality Park Su-hong.

“I can only speak as a lawyer, not an entertainment industry insider, but verbal and physical abuse happens quite frequently as far as I know,” he said. “And there are truly so many cases of agencies not properly compensating their artists for the money they’ve made.

“It seems there’s an immoral but enduring culture in the entertainment industry because higher-ups at these agencies have worked for decades amid the old-fashioned notion that you need to make subordinates obedient through physical violence.”

During the conference, Omega X members Taedong and Hangyeom claimed physical and verbal abuse was frequent in their previous agencies as well. They were each formerly in boy bands Gidongdae and Seven O’ clock.

After the conference, Taedong’s family made more allegations against his former agency 2Y Entertainment via social media, claiming that Taedong was slapped across the face, had his phone confiscated and was prevented from properly attending his grandfather’s funeral.

Due to members’ allegations that abuse is not limited to Spire Entertainment, but rather widespread in the industry, even those who are not fans of Omega X are expressing concerns about what may be happening to K-pop artists behind closed doors.

“The Korean pop culture industry, be it film or music, has grown extremely quickly,” said Lee Gyu-Tag, an associate professor of cultural studies at George Mason University. “But for many people working in the industry, it seems their authoritarian attitude has not changed much […] It’s easy to misuse that authority because most agencies have power over artists rather than being equals.”




Why now?

Although the alleged abuse had taken place almost every day for a year, Omega X members said they felt unable to speak up, fearing this was their last chance to make it in the industry. The boy band debuted in June 2021 and consists of members who already had careers in K-pop.

“In most cases of unfair treatment, the artists endure without suing the agency,” said attorney Roh. “Most K-pop trainees or singers are also very young and don’t know much about law. So even when there are unreasonable clauses in the contracts, they just agree to the conditions — I’ve seen actual contracts with conditions like no dating or cell phones, which are legally void due to irrationality.

“Even if they know it’s unfair, they’re desperate to debut and feel like they have no choice but to agree.”

Roh added that due to the nature of celebrity court cases, K-pop singers often feel like speaking up would merely be the beginning of a rough path.

“For a celebrity, what’s more, important than winning a lawsuit is to win it before your image becomes tarnished,” he said. “And while the lawsuit drags on, the agency that you still technically belong to won’t book you any gigs or advertisement deals. The celebrity slowly gets forgotten by the public. They usually do win the lawsuit, but years later.”

This is exactly what happened to boy band B.A.P, which debuted in 2012 and saw great popularity, considered as rivals to boy bands Exo and BTS. In 2014, B.A.P sued TS Entertainment, claiming the six members were each paid only 17.9 million won ($13,000) after three years of frequent album drops and world tours.

The lawsuit dragged on for a year until the two parties settled the dispute. But after a year of no activities in the early phase of its career, B.A.P never managed to get back on track.




Will this spark change?

Some K-pop fans are hoping Omega X’s claims may serve as a catalyst for better treatment of artists, hopefully through systemic change. Over the past decade, several legal measures have been implemented to improve working conditions in the industry.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission announced a standard contract form in 2009, limiting an artist and agency’s exclusive contract to a maximum of seven years in order to prevent excessively long contracts. Prior to that, agencies often forced decades-long exclusive contracts claiming they had to retrieve their investments in talent training.

The seven-year limit was initially met with strong backlash from the entertainment industry. A month after the announcement, three then-members of boy band TVXQ! sued SM Entertainment over their original exclusive contract being 13 years. They won the lawsuit, which played an important role in the seven-year limit becoming accepted as the norm.

Another change came in 2014 when the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism banned underage celebrities from filming or attending events between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. in order to protect their rights to rest. Now, K-pop fans are familiar with underage K-pop idols leaving awards ceremonies before their 10 p.m.-curfew.

The same legislature also bans celebrities under 15 from working more than 35 hours a week and those over 15 from working more than 40 hours. But due to the nature of K-pop idols — who don’t only film, but must practice singing and dancing rigorously to meet the industry’s high standards — questions still remain on how this limit can realistically be enforced. Taedong of Omega X tearfully claimed during the press conference that his previous agency forced him to practice 15 to 17 hours a day without any days off.

Prof Lee. says what’s more important than legal measures is a change in the overall culture of the entertainment industry, so that artists can be effectively protected by such measures.

“Of course, not all agencies abuse their artists,” he said, “and even when it happens, it’s not the lack of legal measures that stop singers from speaking up. Legislature does need to keep working on preventing blind spots and punishing abusers adequately. But fundamental change is only possible when people working in the entertainment industry start self-reflecting that these old-fashioned, oppressive ways were always wrong, and are now absolutely unacceptable in this day and age.”

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]