Allegations Are Swirling That the CEO of OMEGA X's Agency Mistreated Them

The world of Korean pop has quickly become a central part of American pop culture, but the music isn't the only thing that's made its way stateside. Recently, a controversy between K-pop group OMEGA X and their agency made news in the U.S. after allegations spread online suggesting that the CEO of SPIRE Entertainment, which represents the band, was abusive to some of the band's members.

The allegations against CEO Kang Seong-hee first began spreading after a Korean news outlet called SBS News posted a series of clips that it claimed were video of Kang verbally and physically abusing members of the group. That same day, SPIRE Entertainment issued an apology through Sports Chosun in which they attempted to provide context for what happened in the video.

In the statement, SPIRE claimed that the CEO was discussing the hard work that had gone into the group's recent tour now that it was over. In the end, they began to "air grievances" and started yelling at one another after emotions were heightened.

“The members and the agency have currently resolved all their misunderstandings, and they ended the conversation by saying that they wanted to move forward while being considerate of each other,” the statement added, according to a translation.

The video, which was apparently taken by a fan following a concert, sees Kang appearing to yell at the band. “Do you think losers like you could be loved by people? Are you big? You didn’t come this far on your own," she says in the clip.

Later in the series of clip, Jaehan, one of the members of OMEGA X, seems to collapse. After he collapses, you can hear Kang suggesting that he quit music if he's that exhausted.

“Are you that exhausted? Kim Jaehan, if you’re always sick like this, stop being a singer," she says, and can later be seen grabbing Kim by the collar.

Although the statement from SPIRE seems to suggest that the fighting was mutual, the clips certainly paint a little bit of a different story.

This clip led to an avalanche of claims about Kang's behavior, suggesting that she had been abusive to members of the band at various other stops along the tour.

“We’re waiting for Uber to get our food outside. I saw the CEO of [OMEGA X’s] company hitting the kids,” one fan claimed in an audio clip posted to Twitter.

SBS News also claims that the members of the band were stranded in Los Angeles after they appeared to have their plane tickets to Seoul revoked following the circulation of the rumors. The news outlet claims that the members of the band had to book their tickets to Seoul at their own expense with help from their parents. This story is still evolving, but it seems that there is still some lingering tension between OMEGA X and SPIRE.