HYBE chairman to be referred to prosecution for allegedly deceiving shareholders

Bang Si-hyuk, the chairman of K-pop powerhouse HYBE, will be referred to the prosecution this week and possibly be indicted on suspicion of deceiving investors into selling their stakes in his company, police said on Monday.

“We plan to forward the case to the prosecution within the week,” Hong Seok-ki, the head of the National Office of Investigation, said during a press briefing.

Bang is accused of violating the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act by deceiving investors into selling their stakes in HYBE in 2019, just before the company went public, making nearly 200 billion won ($145.9 million) in both additional and illegal profits.

Police launched an investigation into the allegations in December 2024 and began a full-scale probe, which included a raid on HYBE headquarters, in July of last year.

Their investigation was prolonged after the prosecution requested supplementary investigations and rejected two arrest warrant requests filed by the police.

Sources close to the issue said that police were expected to refer Bang’s case to the prosecution without seeking his detention.

Yonhap