HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk’s case has been referred to prosecutors in Seoul over alleged unfair trading linked to HYBE’s 2020 listing. Police say the conduct produced 263.1 billion won in improper gains, and prosecutors will decide whether to indict, seek further investigation or drop the charge. Bang and HYBE deny wrongdoing and say the listing complied with the law.
HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk arrives at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's financial crime investigation unit in Mapo District, Seoul, Sept. 15, 2025, for questioning over alleged unfair trading. Newsis
The police file on HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk arrived at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office last week with a precise number attached: 263.1 billion won ($190 million) in what investigators called improper gains.
The question that will decide Bang's fate is one that police and prosecutors have spent almost two years failing to settle between themselves: what crime, if any, the conduct amounts to.
On Thursday, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's financial crime investigation unit referred Bang and four others to prosecutors without detention on suspicion of fraudulent unfair trading under the Capital Markets Act, closing an investigation that went on for 21 months.
