On May 11, Park Sung Joo, head of the National Office of Investigation, addressed reporters during a regular press briefing held at the National Police Agency in Seoul.
Regarding whether police plan to resubmit another arrest warrant request, Park stated that authorities are currently reviewing the prosecutors’ demands for additional supplementary investigation before making further decisions.
The case centers on allegations of fraudulent unfair trading connected to HYBE’s corporate listing process.
According to investigators, Bang Si Hyuk allegedly misled investors in 2019 by claiming there were no plans for the company to go public. Police suspect that after investors sold shares to a specific private equity fund based on those statements, HYBE later proceeded with its stock market listing anyway.
Authorities additionally suspect that Bang Si Hyuk had a secret prior agreement with the private equity side allowing him to receive 30% of post-IPO investment profits. Investigators believe the arrangement may have generated approximately 190 billion KRW in illicit gains.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Financial Crime Investigation Unit first applied for an arrest warrant against Bang on April 21. However, prosecutors rejected the request several days later, arguing that evidence supporting the necessity of detention remained insufficient.
Police later resubmitted the warrant request on April 30, but prosecutors rejected it once again, stating that the supplementary investigative requirements previously requested had not been fully completed.
The repeated rejection sparked speculation among some Korean media outlets suggesting possible tension between police and prosecutors, especially amid ongoing discussions surrounding major prosecution reform and the possible dismantling of the Prosecutors’ Office system. However, Park Sung Joo dismissed those interpretations.
He stated, “Some reports described this as a power struggle, but I don’t agree with that interpretation at all. We are continuing to coordinate well with prosecutors.”
Although authorities declined to reveal the exact details of the requested supplementary investigation, police confirmed the matter remains under active review.
The investigation into Bang Si Hyuk reportedly intensified after police received related intelligence reports in late 2024. Authorities later conducted search and seizure operations at HYBE headquarters and the Korea Exchange in June and July of last year, while also imposing an overseas travel ban on Bang.
Police additionally summoned the HYBE chairman for questioning five separate times between September and November.
Despite the ongoing investigation, Bang Si Hyuk has consistently denied wrongdoing. His side maintains that HYBE fully complied with all relevant laws and regulations during the company’s IPO process and insists there were no legal violations.
As founder of HYBE and the executive widely credited for building BTS into a global phenomenon, Bang Si Hyuk remains one of the most influential figures in the Korean entertainment industry. The legal controversy surrounding him has therefore attracted enormous public attention both inside and outside the K-pop world.
Sources: Daum | 스타투데이
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