Bang Si Hyuk, the chairman and founder of K-pop agency HYBE, appeared for a second round of police questioning on Monday morning in connection with an ongoing investigation into allegations of unfair stock trading.
Bang arrived at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency around 10 AM on September 22nd. This marks his second appearance as a suspect in the case, following his initial questioning last week on September 15th.
The investigation is looking into events from 2019, before HYBE went public. Authorities are examining claims that Bang Si Hyuk misled early investors by assuring them there were no plans for an IPO. He’s then accused of arranging for these investors to sell their shares to a special purpose vehicle (SPV) controlled by a private equity fund set up by his former associates. The deal allegedly allowed him to gain roughly 190 billion won ($137 million), potentially violating South Korea’s Capital Markets Act.
The investigation has been escalating for months. Police raided the Korea Exchange in Seoul to obtain documents related to HYBE’s IPO review process on June 30th. This was followed by a raid on HYBE’s headquarters in Seoul on July 24th.
Chairman Bang has denied all allegations against him throughout the investigation.
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