South Korean police raided the headquarters of K-pop giant HYBE on July 24th over allegations of stock fraud involving the company’s founder, Chairman Bang Si Hyuk.
Following the raid, HYBE’s Chief Legal Officer, Jeong Jin Soo, sent an email to employees on Friday morning to address the situation. “The company is fully cooperating with authorities to get to the bottom of this,” Jeong wrote. “We will demonstrate that the company has acted in full compliance with the law.”
>> Police Raid HYBE Headquarters Amid Allegations Against Bang Si Hyuk
He also sought to calm employee concerns, adding, “We will do our best to ensure this process doesn’t cause you undue worry. Please continue to focus on your roles without being overly concerned about the investigation.”
The investigation centers on allegations that Chairman Bang misled early investors before HYBE’s massive initial public offering (IPO) in 2019. Bang allegedly told these investors that the company had no plans to go public and persuaded them to sell their shares to a Special Purpose Company (SPC) set up by a private equity fund with which he reportedly had connections.
Thursday’s raid marks a major development in the ongoing probe. On June 30th, authorities seized documents from the Korea Exchange related to HYBE’s IPO review. Police then obtained a search and seizure warrant for HYBE’s headquarters and other locations on July 17th, leading to the raid on July 24th.
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