HYBE Shares Plummet Amid Ongoing Investigation of Chairman Bang Si Hyuk
Hey K-pop fans, buckle up because HYBE is making headlines for all the wrong reasons. It turns out the company’s chairman, Bang Si Hyuk, is under investigation, and it’s hitting their stock hard. Over the week ending May 30, HYBE’s shares took a nosedive, dropping 6.8% to close at ₩266,000 KRW (about $192 USD). Yup, you read that right—it’s the steepest decline among major music-related stocks during a period when things were relatively calm in the market.
So, what’s happening? Recent reports from South Korean authorities reveal that police reissued a search and seizure warrant for Bang as part of a probe into alleged fraudulent trading tied to HYBE’s initial public offering (IPO) back in 2020. According to Billboard, police believe Bang misled early investors about HYBE’s plans to go public, which may have caused them to sell their shares prematurely. And here’s the kicker—Bang is reportedly linked to private equity deals that raked in hundreds of billions of won when HYBE went public.
While HYBE insists all business transactions were above board, it’s clear that this ongoing scrutiny has made investors a bit jittery. For some perspective, JYP Entertainment only saw a 0.9% dip, while SM Entertainment faced a 3.1% drop during the same period.
As regulatory bodies and law enforcement dive deeper into this mess, it looks like the fallout could keep affecting HYBE’s market performance. Fans are buzzing with uncertainty and public skepticism may grow as this investigation unfolds.
Keep your eyes peeled for updates, because this situation is definitely one to watch!
