The Financial Supervisory Service is investigating Bang Si-hyuk, the founder and chairman of HYBE, on suspicion of fraudulent and unfair trading.
According to the financial investment industry on May 28, the Financial Supervisory Service has obtained evidence that Chairman Bang misled shareholders by claiming there were no plans for an initial public offering (IPO) while actually pushing forward with the company's listing. He is currently under investigation for suspected fraudulent and unfair trading under the Capital Markets Act.
Before HYBE went public in 2020, Chairman Bang signed a contract with a private equity fund (PEF) established by an acquaintance to share 30% of the capital gains from his stake sale, and received approximately 400 billion won after the listing. This contract was not disclosed in the securities registration statement during the listing process.
These private equity funds purchased HYBE shares from existing investors such as institutional investors and venture capital (VC) firms. The Financial Supervisory Service is reported to have secured evidence that Chairman Bang's side told existing investors that listing was not possible at the time, while simultaneously applying for a designated auditor and moving forward with the IPO process.
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