HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk questioned for 14-hours by police in alleged unfair share trading

Bang Si-hyuk

Bang Si-hyuk, the influential chairman of HYBE, faced a long police investigation on Sunday over allegations of unfair share trading tied to the company’s blockbuster IPO.

Bang was summoned to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Financial Crime Investigation Unit at 10 a.m. on September 15. After nearly 14 hours of questioning, including time to review records, he left the Mapo Government Complex just before midnight.

Cameras were waiting, but Bang walked past without answering questions about whether he had secured 190 billion won in unfair profits or misled investors ahead of HYBE’s listing.

Earlier that morning, Bang gave a short comment before entering the building. “I apologize for the inconvenience caused by my work. I will faithfully participate in the investigation,” he told reporters.

At the heart of the probe is whether Bang deceived investors in 2019 by convincing them to sell their shares to a special purpose corporation linked to him, even as HYBE was moving toward its IPO.

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Investigators believe those investors, including venture capital firms, relied on Bang’s assurances that the company had no immediate plans to go public. Once HYBE did list, Bang allegedly walked away with enormous profits, including a 30 percent cut from private equity funds.

Authorities say the unfair gain could total 190 billion won. Police have already raided the Korea Exchange and HYBE’s Yongsan office to seize stock trading and listing records. The Financial Supervisory Service is also conducting a separate review under prosecutorial oversight.

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Bang’s side rejects the claims. Representatives say all actions during HYBE’s listing process complied with the law. In an email to employees last month, Bang sought to reassure staff: “I will do my best to explain and solve all situations so that my personal problems do not become an obstacle to you.”

Police are now weighing the next phase of the investigation based on Bang’s testimony. For the man who built HYBE into a global music powerhouse and helped guide BTS to worldwide fame, the allegations mark one of the toughest challenges of his career.