Bang Si-hyuk to be summoned over stock manipulation probe on Sept. 15

HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk / Yonhap

Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of K-pop powerhouse HYBE, will appear before police on Sept. 15 for questioning on allegations of unfair trading linked to the company’s initial public offering (IPO).

According to police officials on Wednesday, Bang is scheduled to report to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s financial crimes unit at 10 a.m. that day. As public appearances are the rule for such cases, he is expected to walk past a press line before entering Mapo District Office.

Bang and several former HYBE executives are under investigation for violating the Capital Markets Act. Police suspect that during HYBE’s IPO process, they misled existing shareholders into believing there were no plans for a listing, inducing them to sell their shares to a private equity fund’s special purpose company.

HYBE’s IPO was later pursued, generating an estimated 400 billion won ($291 million) in illicit gains for those involved.

The investigation, which began in December 2023, has faced hurdles. Police sought search warrants for the Korea Exchange in April and May, but prosecutors rejected the requests.

A warrant was finally granted on the third attempt, and materials were seized on June 30. On July 24, police also searched HYBE headquarters.

HYBE headquarters in Yongsan District, Seoul / Yonhap

The Financial Services Commission’s Securities and Futures Commission has separately filed a complaint with prosecutors accusing Bang of unfair trading.

Police later asked prosecutors to transfer the case to avoid overlap, but prosecutors instructed the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) special judicial police to continue the investigation.

As a result, both the Seoul police and the FSS unit are pursuing parallel probes under prosecutorial oversight.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.