Arrest Warrant Sought for HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk on Fraudulent Trading Charges

Police have applied for an arrest warrant for HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk on suspicion of deceiving investors into selling their shares ahead of the company’s initial public offering (IPO).

The Financial Crimes Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 21st that it had requested a detention warrant for Bang on charges of fraudulent and unfair trading. This comes about five months after he was questioned in mid-November last year.

Bang is accused of misleading HYBE investors in 2019 by claiming that there were no plans for a stock listing, inducing them to sell their shares to a specific private equity fund, and then proceeding with the IPO afterward.

Police believe that, based on a prior undisclosed agreement with the private equity fund, Bang received about 30% of the post-listing capital gains, earning nearly 200 billion won in illicit profits.

Under the Capital Markets Act, acts such as gaining financial benefit through false statements or using deceptive schemes in connection with financial investment products—including unlisted stocks—are prohibited.

If the illicit gains exceed 5 billion won, the law stipulates penalties of life imprisonment or a minimum of five years in prison.

After obtaining intelligence on these allegations at the end of 2024, police conducted search and seizure operations at the Korea Exchange and HYBE in June and July of last year, and imposed a travel ban on Bang.

As the investigation has been prolonged, Bang has reportedly faced various restrictions on his external activities.

The U.S. Embassy in Korea recently sent a letter to the National Police Agency requesting cooperation for Bang’s visit to the United States, citing reasons such as the world tour of the group BTS.

Bang maintains that there are no legal issues, stating that he complied with all relevant laws and regulations at the time of the company’s listing.