The Financial Supervisory Provider (FSS) headquarters in Seoul. Characterize Credit: Wikiwater2020
Cybersecurity expert The procuring and selling-centered investigations into Hybe founder Bang Si-hyuk and assorted mavens witness to be intensifying. In conserving with regional reviews, authorities maintain performed a raid of the K-pop huge’s Seoul headquarters.
As issues stand, we don’t know the particular extent of these investigations. Then as soon as more, it’s been nearly six months since local media first linked Bang to scrutiny touching on alleged interior most-fairness aspect presents done earlier than his company’s 2020 IPO.
Evidently, this scrutiny isn’t letting up. The day gone by, we broke down the trouble of the reported allegations – and explored the scenario’s conceivable affect on BTS’ rotund-group comeback.
Lengthy myth fast, the Financial Supervisory Provider is reportedly furious by an expedited referral of the Bang case to prosecutors. And a separate police investigation into the identical topic is presupposed to be ongoing as wisely.
(Referring to the total “reportedly” and “is presupposed to be” usages: Technically, Bang and the true authorities maintain yet to negate publicly on the topic. Connected particulars are trickling out by nameless sources by South Korean retail outlets.)
No longer coincidentally, data referring to the in the initiating talked about Hybe HQ raid emerged on the heels of the media-fueled replace on Bang’s case.
In conserving with the Korea Instances, Seoul Southern District prosecutors searched Hybe’s keep of labor in reference to insider-procuring and selling allegations in opposition to a undeniable exec.
The upper-up, whose title remains undisclosed, is reportedly accused of pocketing roughly $175,000 in profits by capitalizing on data of Hybe’s YG Plus funding plans in 2021. Unsurprisingly, the latter entity’s shares (KRX: 037270) spiked in worth after Hybe purchased nearly 18% of the alternate.
Aid to the allegations in opposition to Bang, per the Korea Herald, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has submitted a undeniable search-warrant quiz to prosecutors over the IPO-fraud claims.
And whereas it potentially doesn’t need asserting, it’ll be price conserving an look out for this comparatively main raid and any adjoining revelations. Furthermore roughly implied is that Hybe is cooperating with the investigations, regional retail outlets summed up.
In the higher image, though the scenario appears to be like serious, it absolutely isn’t without precedent. At some level of 2024 alone, authorities arrested Kakao’s billionaire founder on inventory-manipulation charges stemming from the SM Entertainment takeover strive in opposition to – after raiding the principle offices of every and every SM and Kakao in 2023.
Meanwhile, YG founder and exec Yang Hyun-suk became as soon as indicted final year for allegedly failing to expose a pair of excessive-cease wristwatches upon returning to Korea a decade prior.
Bearing all that in mind, Hybe merchants don’t appear too bothered at latest. Shares (KRX: 352820) dipped about 2% in the course of nowadays’s procuring and selling but, at $193/₩266,000 a pop, are nonetheless up approximately 36% since 2025’s delivery up.
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