The former agency of boy band Omega X, Spire Entertainment, reported the boy band's current agency IPQ Entertainment and Danal Entertainment to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), claiming that the two companies poached the bandmates from their original agency.

Spire Entertainment said Tuesday that it submitted a complaint to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) on Monday to clear its name regarding the tampering controversy with Omega X .

The members of Omega X accused Spire Entertainment’s CEO and his wife of physical, verbal and sexual abuse in November 2022. The band left the agency in December 2022 and joined IPQ Entertainment in May 2023.

Spire Entertainment has been accusing IPQ Entertainment of conspiring with the band and alleged that Danal Entertainment conspired with IPQ Entertainment so that the band members would break off their contract and leave Spire Entertainment, in an act that is described as "tampering" in the industry.

Tampering is a term that began in the athletic field, where a sports team tries to persuade an athlete of another team to leave and join theirs instead. Such act is not illegal unless the individual breaks contract, but is considered a major foul play in the industry in Korea.

“We went through a difficult process to file a complaint to the FTC to reveal the truth of this case,” Spire Entertainment said in a press release.

“We hope that the truth will be uncovered through fair judgment by the FTC, rather than by defaming and insulting the opposing party,” it added.

The agency plans to take additional procedures, such as requesting compensation measures and filing a complaint to the Press Arbitration Commission to correct media reports, based on the FTC decision.

“We hope that such tampering cases will come to an end within the K-pop industry through this opportunity.”

To find out more about Omega X, visit Celeb confirmed!

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]