Prosecution turns down police request for arrest warrant for HYBE founder Bang
Published: 24 Apr. 2026, 19:50
Updated: 24 Apr. 2026, 19:54
![HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk appears at the financial crimes investigation division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in western Seoul on Sept. 15, 2025. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/24/8c9a11c6-6193-4b53-b97c-7846643fe2db.jpg)
HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk appears at the financial crimes investigation division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in western Seoul on Sept. 15, 2025. [NEWS1]
The prosecution turned down an arrest warrant request for Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of K-pop powerhouse HYBE, who is currently under investigation for fraudulent trading and other issues.
“At this stage, we believe there isn’t enough basis to require detention, so we requested supplementary investigation,” the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office said Friday, four days after the police requested the warrant on Tuesday.
Bang is suspected of misleading existing shareholders ahead of HYBE’s initial public offering by claiming there were no plans to go public, despite preparations being underway in 2019. He then transferred the shares to a specific private equity fund before proceeding with the listing.
Police suspect that under a prior undisclosed agreement with the private equity fund, Bang received 30 percent of the post-listing resale profits, gaining approximately 190 billion won ($128 million) and securing total illicit profits estimated at around 260 billion won.
Police conducted an investigation for about 17 months and summoned Bang for questioning five times between September and November last year.
In June last year, police carried out a search and seizure at the Korea Exchange to secure materials related to the listing review, and the following month, it raided HYBE’s headquarters in Yongsan District, central Seoul.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HAN CHAN-WOO [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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