Photo Credit: Bang Si-Hyuk for the Metropolitan City of Busan / Korea Open Government License Type 1
South Korean authorities are seeking an indictment of Bang Si-Hyuk, K-pop music mogul and founder and chairman of Hybe, over alleged investor fraud.
South Korean authorities are seeking an indictment of Hybe founder and chairman Bang Si-Hyuk, the music mogul behind K-pop supergroup BTS, over allegations of investor fraud. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the prosecutor’s office, the police agency referred Bang to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office on Thursday, September 3, asking him to be indicted on a charge of violating the Capital Markets Act.
Police have been investigating Bang over allegations that he misled investors in 2019 by indicating that Hybe had no immediate plans to go public, after which they sold their shares to a private equity fund shortly before the company moved forward with an initial public offering (IPO). The fund may have paid Bang around 200 billion won ($147 million) in a side deal that promised him 30% of post-IPO stock sale profits, according to police.
South Korean media also reported that police referred four other people, among them Hybe executives and private equity fund officials, to prosecutors on the same day (September 3), asking for their indictment as well.
Bang has denied any wrongdoing, according to Hybe officials.
“We have consistently responded to the allegations with objective evidence and facts,” said Bang’s legal team. “We expect the allegations to be fully and transparently resolved through the legal process.”
Police sought Bang’s arrest back in April and again in May, but prosecutors rejected both requests on the grounds that officers failed to provide sufficient evidence for his arrest and failed to comply with prosecutors’ demand for further investigation. Prosecutors could once again ask for further investigation rather than grant police’s request to immediately indict Bang.
The return of BTS and the launch of their highly anticipated world tour earlier this year drew further attention to Bang’s legal troubles. The group took a hiatus lasting nearly four years due to its members’ mandatory South Korean military service.
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