South Korean police said on Tuesday they have sought an arrest warrant for Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of the agency behind K-pop sensation BTS, over an investor fraud scheme.
Bang is suspected of violating capital market laws by misleading early investors in HYBE in 2019, police said. Investigators allege he told those investors the company had no plans to go public, prompting them to sell shares to a private equity fund linked to his associates.
Police say Bang later received about 30% of the fund’s post-IPO profits under a prior agreement, earning roughly 190 billion won ($129 million, €109.5 million). He has been under investigation since November and has denied wrongdoing. HYBE did not comment on the request for an arrest warrant.
Bang Si-hyuk is suspected of violating capital market laws by misleading early investors ahead of HYBE’s initial public offering
Image: Kim Keun-soo/Newsis/AP Photo/picture alliance
Bang founded HYBE as Big Hit Entertainment in 2005. The agency manages BTS and other major K-pop acts including Seventeen, Le Sserafim and Katseye.
The police action comes as BTS resumes touring after a nearly four-year hiatus while members completed mandatory military service. Earlier this month the group launched a global tour that will visit 34 cities, a new record for the most tour dates by a K-pop artist. Tickets for concerts in South Korea, North America and Europe sold out within hours, according to the band’s management agency.
Edited by: Natalie Muller