Bang Si Hyuk, the influential chairman of leading K-pop entertainment company HYBE, appeared for his second police questioning this past Monday in connection with allegations of illicitly profiting approximately 190 billion won (roughly IDR 2.2 trillion) from the company’s stock market listing.
The high-profile figure presented himself at the Seoul Metropolitan Police office in West Seoul. He underwent questioning as a suspect in a potential violation of the Capital Markets Act, having previously faced interrogation on the same charges last Monday. This marks a significant development in the ongoing investigation surrounding HYBE’s market debut.
The founder of global sensations BTS and TXT endured a marathon interrogation session that lasted an exhaustive 12 hours and 30 minutes. Following this lengthy examination, Bang Si Hyuk was seen swiftly departing the building around 10:30 PM on the same day, escorted by his security detail, before quickly entering a waiting vehicle.
Despite the presence of numerous reporters, the man credited with building HYBE into an entertainment powerhouse and orchestrating numerous agency acquisitions, chose to remain silent and did not respond to any questions from the press. His taciturn exit only fueled further speculation surrounding the accusations.
According to a report by the Korea Times, Bang Si Hyuk is alleged to have misled investors in 2019 by falsely claiming he had no plans for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) for HYBE. This alleged deception formed the basis of the fraud.
Furthermore, he is accused of persuading these investors to sell their shares in the company to a special purpose company (SPC) that was reportedly established by a private equity fund linked to him. Police suspect that HYBE was, in fact, already preparing to go public at that time. Authorities believe Bang ultimately pocketed an estimated IDR 2.2 trillion when the SPC subsequently sold its acquired shares in the company after the successful IPO.
The police initiated their investigation into these serious allegations late last year. As part of their inquiry, they conducted a search of the Korea Exchange in June, seizing documents relevant to HYBE’s listing. This was followed by a raid on HYBE’s corporate headquarters the subsequent month, indicating a broadening scope of the probe into the company’s financial practices.
Summary
Bang Si Hyuk, Chairman of HYBE, recently underwent his second police questioning concerning allegations of illicitly profiting approximately 190 billion won (IDR 2.2 trillion) from the company’s stock market listing. He was interrogated for over 12 hours as a suspect for a potential violation of the Capital Markets Act. After the lengthy session, Bang Si Hyuk departed silently without addressing reporters, amid ongoing speculation.
According to reports, Bang Si Hyuk is accused of misleading investors in 2019 by falsely claiming no plans for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) while simultaneously persuading them to sell their shares to a special purpose company (SPC) linked to him. Police suspect HYBE was already preparing for an IPO at that time, and Bang subsequently profited when the SPC sold these acquired shares post-listing. The investigation, which began late last year, has included searches of the Korea Exchange and HYBE’s corporate headquarters.