SEOUL: Hybe chairman Bang Si-hyuk has been referred to prosecutors without detention over allegations of fraudulent trading surrounding the K-pop powerhouse's 2020 initial public offering, police said Thursday (Sept 3).
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency referred Bang and four others, including Hybe executives and private equity officials, to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office on suspicion of violating the Capital Markets Act.
Police allege that Bang and others misled existing shareholders in 2019 by telling them there were no plans to take the company — then Big Hit Entertainment — public, while preparations for an IPO were already underway.
The shareholders were encouraged to sell their stakes to a private equity fund linked to people close to Bang. Investors in the fund, meanwhile, were informed of the listing plans.
Hybe went public on Korea's main bourse, the Kospi, in October 2020. Police said that the shares acquired through the fund were subsequently sold following the listing, generating about 263.1 billion won ($190 million) in improper gains for those involved.
A court has granted a police request to preserve assets equivalent to the alleged gains ahead of potential prosecution.
Authorities began a preliminary investigation in December 2024 and raided Hybe's headquarters in Seoul in July 2025. Bang was questioned five times during the investigation.
Police also sought arrest warrants for Bang twice earlier this year, but prosecutors rejected the requests, citing the need for further investigation. He was ultimately referred to prosecutors without detention after an investigation lasting about 20 months.
Police characterized the case as an organised and planned financial crime, alleging that those involved withheld information available to company management from existing shareholders to pursue profits from the eventual listing.
Bang has previously denied wrongdoing. His side has maintained that the transactions were conducted legally and that he did not deceive investors over Hybe's IPO plans.
Hybe is home to K-pop acts including BTS, Seventeen and Le Sserafim. - The Korean Herald/ANN
