Bang Si Hyuk faces possible prosecution over HYBE IPO fraud allegations.
South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) finished its probe into HYBE’s stock listing. They plan to refer Bang Si Hyuk to the Securities and Futures Commission for violating the Capital Markets Act. Prosecutors may indict him for fraudulent transactions connected to HYBE’s IPO.
The FSS considered a “fast-track” emergency referral to prosecutors but chose to gather more evidence first. Since the FSS currently has no governor, sending the case to the Securities and Futures Commission was deemed more suitable.
Bang was questioned late last month and gave his final statement. No further questioning is expected.
Reports say Bang and HYBE falsely told investors there were no IPO plans while secretly advancing listing procedures. Bang allegedly convinced investors to sell shares in 2019 under the false claim HYBE wasn’t going public. Those shares were bought by a private equity fund linked to Bang.
Internally, HYBE was preparing for the IPO with auditors and underwriters lined up.
Bang reportedly entered a secret profit-sharing deal with this private equity fund, earning about ₩400 billion KRW ($294 million USD) after HYBE went public. This agreement was not disclosed in official filings.
The police continue their own investigation, recently raiding Korea Exchange’s offices for related documents.
“The FSS has decided to refer Bang to the Securities and Futures Commission for violating the Capital Markets Act.”
— Financial Investment Sector Report
The situation is still developing as authorities move closer to formal charges.
