Bang Si-hyuk, Chairman of HYBE, who is under suspicion of fraudulent trading, has returned home after undergoing a police investigation that lasted about 14 hours.
The Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency summoned Chairman Bang as a suspect to the Mapo office at 10 a.m. on the 15th to investigate whether he violated the Capital Markets Act. Many reporters gathered for his first appearance related to the case.
Before the investigation, Chairman Bang briefly stated in front of reporters, "I apologize for causing concern due to my personal issues. I will sincerely cooperate with the investigation."
When asked questions such as "Did you collude with a private equity fund?", "Did you tell them to sell shares during the IPO process?", and "Did you say there were no plans for listing?", he remained silent, saying, "I will address this during the police investigation."
Afterward, Chairman Bang underwent about 14 hours of investigation, including time for reviewing the records, and emerged from the building around 11:50 p.m. that day. He did not respond to reporters' questions such as "What points did you clarify regarding the 190 billion won unjust profit?" and "Is it true that you provided false information that you did not list for profit?" and quickly left with his security personnel.
The police plan to review the direction of the additional investigation based on Chairman Bang's statements.
Chairman Bang is accused of deceiving existing HYBE investors, including venture capitalists, by claiming there were no IPO plans before HYBE's listing in 2019, and causing them to sell shares to a special purpose company (SPC) established by a private equity fund associated with him (fraudulent trading under the Capital Markets Act).
Investors who believed Chairman Bang's words sold their shares, but financial authorities have determined that HYBE was undergoing pre-IPO procedures at that time.
The police believe that Chairman Bang received unjust profits amounting to 19 billion won, including a 30% profit from the sale of shares from the private equity fund.
In response, the police conducted a search and seizure at the Korea Exchange in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on June 30, to secure documents related to HYBE's stock trading and listing review. They also conducted a search at HYBE's headquarters in Yongsan-gu on July 24. Special judicial police officers from the Financial Supervisory Service, under the direction of the prosecution, are separately investigating the allegations.
Chairman Bang's side denies the allegations, stating, "We proceeded in compliance with laws and regulations at the time of listing."
In an email sent to company members on the 6th of last month, Chairman Bang stated, "I will do my best to explain and resolve all situations so that my personal issues do not become an obstacle for you."
[Ji Seung-hoon, Star Today reporter]
