Photo Credit: Hybe
Seoul police have officially moved to arrest Hybe chairman Bang Si-hyuk in connection with a fraudulent trading investigation centering on the K-pop company’s 2020 IPO.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s financial crimes division confirmed as much today, on the heels of a related press conference update from Commissioner Park Jung-bo. As summed up by regional outlets including the Korea Herald, the commissioner during the briefing described the investigation as nearly finished.
By now, many know that the overarching probe – in short, Bang is alleged to have misled investors about Hybe’s IPO en route to pocketing over $120 million via lucrative private equity side deals – has been unfolding since late 2024.
(We previously broke down the claims against Bang in greater detail. Worth reiterating is that the Hybe chairman has denied the allegations from the outset, and Hybe itself maintains that its “IPO was carried out in full compliance with laws and regulations.”)
Then, July 2025 brought a criminal referral and raids of both the Korea Exchange’s offices and Hybe’s headquarters. Bang was slapped with a travel ban this past August – more here in a moment – and the remainder of 2025 saw the exec complete at least five marathon police-questioning sessions.
In other words, the investigation has been in motion for a while. Nevertheless, is something else behind the arrest warrant’s timing?
Possibly. Per the Korea Times, the U.S. Embassy in Seoul reportedly asked the National Police Agency (which oversees all 18 of the nation’s local departments) to waive the aforesaid travel ban for Bang.
According to the same source, the officials in their request cited Bang’s plans (details about which are few and far between) to attend July 4th celebrations. Though Independence Day is still months out, BTS is scheduled to bring the Arirang World Tour to the States this coming Saturday; officials also reportedly mentioned Bang’s sought presence at the stateside-leg kickoff.
As reported by the Korea Herald, Hybe then felt compelled to note that it hadn’t contacted the “US Embassy to seek the lifting of Chairman Bang’s travel ban.”
All those details aside, the arrest warrant, which could have been shelved in favor of a prosecution referral without detention, seems a rather clear-cut answer to the reported ask. In a statement, Bang’s attorneys underscored their client’s “long-standing cooperation with the investigation.”
“We regret that an arrest warrant has been sought despite our client’s long-standing cooperation with the investigation,” his legal team relayed, per the Herald’s translation. “We will continue to fully comply with all legal procedures and do our utmost to present our case.”
These comments raise an interesting question: With the warrant having materialized after multiple marathon interrogation sessions, would Bang have been better served by traveling abroad instead of cooperating?
Of course, this would have been easier said than done (and strategically questionable) given that the exec’s massive K-pop company is headquartered in Seoul. Additionally, taking a very long trip at the investigation’s start probably wouldn’t have benefited Bang PR-wise.
However, the reality doesn’t appear to have stopped other former Hybe higher-ups from doing just that. As summarized by the Korea Times, Seoul police are “particularly sensitive” about the travel-ban subject “because a key alleged accomplice in the case left for the United States in June 2025 and has not returned to Korea.”
Different reports indicate that the key alleged accomplice is former Hybe chief investment officer Kim Jung-dong, who’s said to be a U.S. citizen. Per the Korea JoongAng Daily, Kim co-founded Eastone Equity Partners, one of the private equities that’s been at the investigation’s center from the get-go.
