South Korean police have applied for an arrest warrant for Bang Si-Hyuk, the billionaire founder of HYBE, the agency behind global K-pop phenomenon BTS, over allegations that he defrauded investors of more than $100m (£74m).
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency confirmed it had asked prosecutors to request a court warrant for Bang, who is accused of misleading shareholders in 2019 by telling them HYBE had no plans to go public. Investigators believe he induced them to sell their shares to a private equity fund before the company proceeded with an initial public offering, netting the fund and Bang vast profits.
Police suspect the fund may have paid Bang about 200bn won ($136m) in a side deal that promised him 30% of post-IPO stock sale profits. Bang, 51, has been under investigation since November but has not yet been charged.
In a statement to the Associated Press, Bang’s legal team did not directly address the accusations but expressed regret that police were seeking his arrest “despite our full and consistent cooperation with the investigation over an extended period”. They pledged to continue cooperating and to “clearly explain our position”.
Bang, who founded HYBE as Big Hit Entertainment in 2005, is one of the most powerful figures in K-pop, overseeing acts including Seventeen, Le Sserafim and Katseye, as well as BTS. The scandal is a major setback for the company as BTS embarks on a global tour following a four-year hiatus for mandatory military service. The group, which recently performed in Seoul and Tokyo, is due to kick off US events in Tampa, Florida, this month and will visit the UK in July.
