Police seek arrest warrant for HYBE chairman Bang Si Hyuk over alleged unfair trading

The police have sought an arrest warrant against HYBE chairman Bang Si Hyuk over alleged unfair trading.

On Tuesday, April 21, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Financial Crime Investigation Division announced that it had requested an arrest warrant for Bang over allegations of violating capital market laws, according to reports by local outlets Soompi and Korea JoongAng Daily.

Bang is accused of misleading investors of HYBE—formerly Big Hit Entertainment—for saying that there were no plans for a public stock listing before going public in 2019. The shareholders eventually sold their shares to a specific private equity fund, but Bang proceeded with the listing shortly after in 2020.

The police alleged that Bang gained illicit profits of 190 billion won (~P7.7 billion) from the sale of shares before the company's initial public offering.

Bang has since denied the allegations, asserting that the sale proceeded at the investors' request and that the "profit-sharing terms were conditions first proposed by the investors."

South Korea's Capital Markets Act disallows financial gains through misleading or concealing information with regard to financial investment products, including unlisted shares.

For his part, Bang's attorney expressed dismay at the police's request for the chairman's arrest warrant when he was cooperating with the investigation.

“It is regrettable that an arrest warrant has been requested despite his sincere cooperation with the investigation over a long period of time. We will faithfully participate in future legal proceedings and do our utmost to clarify the facts," his legal representative said in a statement.

Bang was first summoned for questioning in September 2025 and has been banned from leaving South Korea since August. 

HYBE houses different labels that handle music groups like BTS, ENHYPEN, KATSEYE, SEVENTEEN, NewJeans, and LE SSERAFIM, among others.