Omega X, Spire Entertainment butt heads again, this time over YouTuber's court ruling

Boy band Omega X and its former agency Spire Entertainment are butting heads again over a court decision ordering a YouTuber to remove a video with allegedly false information about the band's old contract dispute.

Boy band Omega X performs its new song ″Junk Food″ during a showcase held at the Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul for its third EP ″iykyk″ on Nov. 7. [NEWS1]

It’s round two for boy band Omega X and its former agency Spire Entertainment, as the two sides enter into another conflict over a local court decision from Tuesday.

A local court ordered YouTuber Injiwoong, whose real name is Kim Ji-woong, to take down a video in which he claimed that the boy band members intentionally provoked Spire Entertainment’s CEO in order to ultimately break free from the exclusive contract with the company and sign with a new agency.

Six expressions he used within the video were deemed as false information, and he was ordered by the court to take it down within three days. Should he fail to comply, he will be fined 1 million won ($770) each day afterward.

Injiwoong had been arguing that Omega X’s current agency, IPQ Entertainment, convinced the members to break off the deal with Spire Entertainment and sign with them instead, years before the members’ contract with the previous agency was set to expire. Such an act is referred to as tampering in the sports and entertainment industry and constitutes a breach of contract if proven.

As straightforward as Tuesday’s court decision may seem, IPQ Entertainment and Spire Entertainment are both arguing that the court took their side.

On the one hand, IPQ Entertainment says that the fact the court ordered the YouTuber to take down a video where he claimed that IPQ and Omega X were tampering means that the court practically deemed the tampering accusation to be false.

On the other hand, Spire Entertainment argues that it’s a victory for Injiwoong, who had sided with the former agency, because the majority of the requests for an injunction to take down his videos were turned down, meaning that he mostly spoke the truth.

Members of boy band Omega X pose for photos after an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily at the JTBC headquarters in Sangam-dong, western Seoul, on Nov. 3. [PARK SANG-MOON]

IPQ Entertainment had filed for 90 phrases from eight of Injiwoong’s videos to be deleted or taken down entirely, among which only six were approved by the court. The court also ordered that Omega X members pay for 90 percent of the lawsuit cost and that Injiwoong pay the remaining 10 percent.

“Anyone familiar with the legal field would know that this is virtually a win for YouTuber Injiwoong,” Spire Entertainment said in a press release. “We will take firm measures against Omega X, which is spreading false information to the public, with no mercy.”

However, the court left the other videos alone because the term “tampering” is a subjective expression that needs meticulous and detailed proof, which could not easily be determined during a short injunction hearing, according to IPQ Entertainment’s legal attorney Roh Jong-eon of Yoon & Roh law firm.

“An injunction hearing is different in that the court only approves requests that are very apparent and undeniable, because only one hearing session is held, as opposed to during a lawsuit,” he told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

“It’s much harder to prove that something didn’t happen compared to proving that something did happen. The only reason all the requests weren’t approved was because Injiwoong’s utterances were subjective and therefore not a matter of being true or false, which is the only thing that the court can judge.”

IPQ Entertainment will file a defamation suit against the YouTuber and Spire Entertainment, Roh said. A date has not been set yet.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]