The Korean entertainment industry always has inadequacies, especially for lesser-known
groups who have no solid support.
And there is a fact that nugu groups are often the target of abuse by their management companies.
Behind the flashy looks or the always cheerful images in front of the camera is the misery
of many idols being mistreated by their agency.
In this video, let’s discover who they are.
I’m sure this video is going to expose the dark side of the Kpop industry and change
your view toward it.
1.
OMEGA X being reportedly physically and verbally assaulted by their CEO
So recently, a Twitter user had stirred up all online platforms after uploading an audio
recording with an allegation of Spire Entertainment’s CEO being caught assaulting an OMEGA X member
during their world tour “Don’t Give Up”.
To be more specific, in the circulated audio, CEO Kang Seong Hee was heard screaming at
and physically abusing a group member.
She constantly kept blaming him for not doing anything for her, especially when she had
a hard time, while the poor boy just kept silent and showed signs of being panicked.
As being asked to make a statement about this allegation, Spire Entertainment just stated
that this was just a misunderstanding and they were trying to solve the problem.
Soon after that, SBS had also reached out to Ms.Kang via a phonecall to ask for her
explanation.
Surprisingly, though the evidence seems to be as clear as day, the CEO showed no signs
of remorse or regret for her actions, and constantly denied allegations of assault.
When interviewing with SBS, she even claimed that if people tracked the person who spread
the recording, they would find out that this person is actually the hater of her agency,
and said that there’s no company on earth that treats OMEGA X better than Spire Entertainment
The controversy was pushed to the peak when SBS released another video related to the
allegation, proving the opposite of what Kang Seong Hee said in the interview.
In the video, people can clearly see Jaehan, who was sitting on the ground, looking so
panicked as he was continuously shouted at as well as bombarded with loads of abusive
and offensive words from Kang Seong Hee eventhough she was asked to stop.
The female CEO was seen to fail to control her anger as she continued to yell at Jaehan
rudely even when they entered the hotel lobby.
After verbally assaulting Jaehan for a while, Kang Seong Hee suddenly pulled Jaehan’s
collar and knocked him down on the floor despite being warned that Jaehan was going to faint
as other members saw him hopelessly bursting into tears after collapsing.
After watching the videos and listening to the CEO’s justification, many netizens expressed
their anger toward her alleged shamelessness, especially her violent action toward the members
of OMEGA X.
They asked for the protection of Jaehan and demanded punishment for Kang Seong Hee for
what she had done, and even hoped that OMEGA X would find a way to terminate the contract
with Spire Entertainment as soon as possible as they aren’t going to be safe when working
in a toxic environment.
Accordingly, the CEO then canceled OMEGA X's scheduled flights back to Korea on October
23.
Thus, the eleven members and their manager had to ask for help from their families and
pay out of pocket to get back to Seoul.
Up to now, the rumors and allegations related to this incident have not been clarified 100%
and are still causing many controversies and questions throughout the forums.
2.
The East Light, the victim of physical and mental abuse by their agency’s producer
and CEO.
Back in time, there was a shocking event about a teenage idol group being abused and assaulted
by their own company’s producer and CEO.
In particular, it was reported by the leader of the group, Lee Seokcheol in a press conference,
that the members were brutally abused by the producer as well as the CEO.
According to what he narrated in the press conference, the producer, Yoon Young Il was
repeatedly hitting the boy group members with baseball bats and iron mics numerous times
from 2015 to 2017.
He even detained The East Light's bassist, Lee Seunghyun, in the 5th floor of the recording
studio, where the poor boy got hit in the head, thighs, arms, and buttocks over 50 times.
While another member, Lee Eunsung, was hit to the point of bleeding and getting bruises.
More terrible, he also revealed that once the group didn’t listen to the producer
or made a small mistake, they would be wrapped and strangled with guitar strings around their
neck.
Though the poor boys were full of wounds and bruises, they were not allowed to receive
any proper medical treatment but were still made to appear on broadcasts.
What’s more, the CEO, though witnessing all the wrong deeds of the producer, chose
to be silent and just told him to hit them gently.
Despite suffering from such unethical treatment, the poor boys didn’t dare to tell anyone,
even their parents who usually visit them in their dorms, because the producer had threatened
to disband the group and even k*ll them if the matter was exposed.
Along with that accusation, Lee Seokcheol also released photos of the bruised body and
the bleeding wound on his head when participating in the JTBC's "News Room".
Not only that, JTBC even revealed a recording of CEO Kim Chang Hwan's threats toward the
group members:
“You'll have to keep your mouths shut even if I beat you to d**th.
You want to expose all this?
No one’s gonna believe you.
Don't make a fuss, or your parents will be the ones to suffer”.
Up to now, all the members are still haunted with what they have been through under Media
Line Entertainment.
They couldn’t get over the most horrible memories in their life as some are even currently
receiving psychiatric treatment after developing trauma from these events.
As soon as the accusation broke out, it triggered great anger from netizens.
They constantly asked Media Line Entertainment to make a statement about the problem and
admit all the filthy things they have done.
Many also encouraged the boys to speak up for themselves and showed their support to
them until the end.
Upon the great pressure from netizens, the CEO of Media Line Entertainment admitted that
the producer, Yoon Young Il, often abused The East Light members yet still denied his
unscrupulous behavior.
However, all the members and their families didn’t give up and looked for a lawyer to
plan a lawsuit against the producer and CEO of Media Line Entertainment.
And finally, Yoon Young Il and Kim ChangHwan had to pay a deserved and heavy toll after
a lengthy process in court.
Reportedly, Yoon Young Il had been sentenced to two years in prison and Kim ChangHwan had
received a two year probation sentence.
The agency itself had to pay a fine of approximately $17,000.
3.
Nahyun and Soomin (SONAMOO) got mistreated by TS Entertainment to the point they demanded
to terminate their exclusive contract with the company.
On September 23, 2019, it was reported that SONAMOO’s Nahyun and Sumin were in their
ongoing lawsuit against their agency, TS Entertainment, to affirm the non-existence of their exclusive
contracts.
The reason was that TS Entertainment not only had unclear statements of finances but also
provided poor living conditions for this girl group as their dormitory often had electricity
and water cut off.
Even worse, they were evicted from their dormitory without any plausible reason or prior notice
from the company.
Moreover, TS Entertainment also called on fans to raise funds for SONAMOO's comeback
while in fact, their comeback has been still constantly delayed.
Although many rookie groups are not paid on time by their agency, which is common practice
in the Korean entertainment industry, it's hard to believe that since SONAMOO’s debut
in 2014, the girl group still hasn't been receiving any salary.
That's definitely the company's payroll fraud.
It is worth mentioning that TS Entertainment has always been considered a thug company
and had already been involved in many legal disputes with their former artists such as
Sleepy, Jun Hyosung, and Song Ji Eun, most of whom were required to terminate their contracts
with the agency.
In response, the company has always given notice of pursuing legal action against their
artists.
Upon Nahyun and Soomin's denunciation, TS Entertainment was still up to the old trick
of suing the two girls for the reason of negatively affecting the other members, causing damage
to the group's activities and the company’s reputation.
Fortunately, until September 15, 2020, according to media outlet reports, the court ruled in
favor of SONAMOO members Nahyun and Sumin, and their contracts were now terminated.
After that, Nahyun posted an Instagram Story about articles that reported the win in the
lawsuit.
It was a happy ending for both of the girls after all that time enduring with TS Entertainment’s
mistreatment during their time working under the company
So, which mistreatment case above do you think is the most serious?
And why are less popular groups often treated so badly by their companies?