Bang Si-hyuk Undergoes Second Round of Questioning Over Alleged HYBE Illicit Gains

Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of HYBE, who is under suspicion of fraudulent unfair trading, is undergoing his second round of questioning as a suspect on September 22.

Yonhap News Agency

An official from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency stated at a regular press briefing that "Chairman Bang Si-hyuk of HYBE is being questioned as a suspect starting from 10 a.m. today." This is the second round of questioning, coming one week after his public summons on September 15.

The police official explained, "We are analyzing confiscated materials and questioning related individuals. As there are matters that require further clarification, we are conducting a second round of questioning."

According to the police, Chairman Bang is suspected of violating the Capital Markets Act by engaging in fraudulent unfair trading. Before HYBE's initial public offering in 2019, he allegedly deceived existing investors, including venture capitalists, by claiming there were no plans for an IPO. He then induced them to sell their shares to a special purpose company (SPC) established by a private equity fund linked to him.

Based on Bang's statements, the investors sold their shares to the SPC. However, financial authorities believe that HYBE was already proceeding with preliminary IPO procedures, such as applying for a designated auditor, at that time. Subsequently, Bang went ahead with the IPO and reportedly received 30 percent of the capital gains from the private equity fund, earning an illicit profit of 190 billion won.

After receiving a tip-off about the case at the end of last year, the police conducted a search and seizure at the Korea Exchange in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on June 30 to secure documents related to HYBE's IPO review. On July 24, they also searched HYBE's headquarters.

Separately from the police investigation, special judicial police officers from the Financial Supervisory Service are also looking into Chairman Bang's alleged unfair trading.

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