Omega X’s Hwichan Cleared Of Indecent Assault Allegations Made By Former Agency’s CEO Against Him
Omega X member Hwichan (29) has been cleared of the indecent assault allegations filed against him by his former agency’s CEO, a woman in her 50s identified as A.
Hwichan appeared on the JTBC program “Case Chief” aired on the 16th, where he shared his feelings about the investigation process regarding the indecent assault charges. He said, “From the police investigation stage, I felt like I had already been branded a criminal. It was so unfair, and it felt like my life was over.”
Regarding what happened on the day of the incident, he claimed, “When we were left alone together, the swearing and threats continued, and even though I refused, physical contact was forced on me. I was so scared and humiliated that I ran away as if fleeing.” He continued, “That person called herself ‘mom’ and forced expressions of affection, repeatedly saying things like ‘Do you want to quit being a celebrity?’ Honestly, it was disgusting.”
On the 10th, the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office decided not to indict Hwichan due to insufficient evidence in connection with the indecent assault allegations.
In the non-indictment decision, the prosecution stated, “The CCTV footage submitted by the complainant consists only of edited files lasting 6 seconds, 9 seconds, and 11 seconds, not the full original recording. Based on those videos alone, it is difficult to conclude that the suspect forcibly molested the complainant.”
The prosecution also explained that during the investigation, they requested submission of the full original footage, but the complainant did not comply, and the employee who edited the footage, despite being a key reference witness, repeatedly failed to respond to requests to appear.
Citing the provisional injunction decision related to Omega X and the arbitration ruling by the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board, the prosecution determined that the complainant had used strong verbal abuse and profanity toward the members, placing them in a psychologically intimidated state. The prosecution concluded, “Even based solely on the CCTV footage, the possibility that the actions occurred due to the complainant’s demands or pressure cannot be ruled out,” and therefore it was difficult to define the incident as indecent assault.
After the non-indictment decision, A stated through “Case Chief” that “the case is not yet concluded” and that she would file an objection after securing additional evidence.
Hwichan and his current agency IPQ are reviewing the possibility of legal action on charges of false accusation. Recently, IPQ released an official statement saying, “With the prosecution’s decision of ‘no charges’ and non-indictment, the case has been concluded. Hwichan suffered severe social stigma and mental distress for a long period due to allegations that were not true. We hope that distorted claims and malicious issue-raising will not be repeated.”
Source: (A)
