According to Korean media, the Financial Crime Investigation Department under the Seoul Capital Police Department has been granted a search warrant, effective until August 16 (Korean time).
Notably, this search warrant includes a rare provision allowing searches before dawn and after sunset, ignoring the usual limitations under Article 125 of the Penal Procedure Law.
The scope of the search is described as unusually wide, not only including the presidential office, secretariat, finance, accounting and legal departments, but also extending to any other department that has not been named if it is able to archive related documents.
Mr. Bang is said to have deceived investors early in 2019 - before HYBE officially IPO - when he was accused of claiming that he had no plans to publicly list, but then arranged the sale of the company's shares to an organization with special purposes related to his own private investment relationships.
The authorities believe the heavy raids reflect the current government's tough stance on market manipulation.
Although police confirmed that the search at HYBE headquarters in Yongsan has ended, the investigation is still continuing with the coordination of the special judicial police and prosecution agencies under the Financial Supervisory Authority.
