The lecture by Bang Si-hyuk, Chairman of HYBE, at the Korea Economic Association (KEA) Summer Forum in Jeju, which was set to be held amid a criminal complaint for fraudulent trading, has been canceled.
According to the business community on the 14th, Chairman Bang was originally scheduled to give a keynote speech at the opening ceremony on the first day of the KEA Jeju Summer Forum but was suddenly removed from the list.
The official site of the forum announced that instead of Chairman Bang, Representative Lee Jae-sang would take the stage as the face of HYBE. The specific background for the change of speakers has not been disclosed, but it is interpreted as a response to the impending criminal complaint against Chairman Bang for fraudulent trading.
The KEA Summer Forum, which will be held from the 16th to the 19th at the Lotte Hotel in Jeju, is the largest and most prestigious economic forum in the country, where top experts and business leaders from major fields gather annually to share visions and insights on corporate growth strategies and new business opportunities with CEOs.
Originally, Chairman Bang was expected to give a keynote speech on the theme 'Beyond the BTS Myth: Talking About the Future of K' regarding the challenges and crises of K-pop, focusing on HYBE's global expansion for sustainable growth.
This year, HYBE joined the KEA as a member company alongside leading IT and tech firms such as KT, Kakao, Naver, Dunamu, Megazone Cloud, and IBM Korea.
Meanwhile, according to financial authorities, the Capital Market Investigation Review Committee, a deliberative body under the Financial Services Commission, held a meeting on the 7th and decided to file a criminal complaint against Chairman Bang.
The committee, which is an independent deliberative body under the Financial Services Commission, decides on whether to report to investigative agencies for administrative sanctions such as fines or criminal penalties. This will be addressed at the regular meeting scheduled for the 16th, which is also the day Chairman Bang's lecture at the Jeju Forum was planned.
According to industry sources, Chairman Bang had contracted to share 30% of the profits from the sale of shares with a private equity fund established by an acquaintance before HYBE went public in 2020, and received about 400 billion won after the listing. It is reported that the details of this contract were omitted during the listing review process by the Korea Exchange and the submission of the securities report to the Financial Supervisory Service.
The Financial Supervisory Service has been investigating Chairman Bang for allegations of fraudulent trading. It was determined that Chairman Bang's side falsely informed existing investors, including institutional investors and venture capitalists, that the listing was impossible, leading them to sell HYBE shares to the acquaintance's private equity fund.
In relation to this, HYBE stated, "We understand that we have clarified the matters that the financial authorities are curious about," while explaining that "all transactions were conducted legally after legal review" regarding the allegations.
[Ji Seung-hoon, Star Today Reporter]
