On October 1, Korean media reported that the Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Capital Police Department (Korea) issued an exit ban on Bang Si Hyuk - Chairman of HYBE Group - to serve the investigation of allegations of violating the Capital Market Law, related to the company's listing in 2020.
Bang Si Hyuk was accused of deceiving investors in 2019, saying that HYBE had no plans to list (IPO), in order to promote them to sell shares to a private investment fund established by HYBE's executives.
The fund sold its stake after HYBE listed it (2020), and Bang Si Hyuk is said to have illegally profited about 190 billion won through a previous deal.
Chairman Bang Si Hyuk denied the accusation, asserting that HYBE complied with all relevant laws and regulations at the time of posting.
Police learned about the incident through internal intelligence in December last year and have begun a preliminary investigation. The investigation unit raided the Korean Stock Exchange on June 30 and at HYBE's headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul, on July 24 to seize relevant documents.
Bang Si Hyuk himself went through two rounds of questioning as a suspect on September 15 and 22.
HYBE Group currently owns many subsidiaries and manages famous Kpop groups such as BTS, Seventeen, NewJeans, LE SSERAFIM, TXT, ILLIT...
