The police have summoned Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, who is under suspicion of fraudulent unfair trading, for further questioning.
Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, who is suspected of fraudulent unfair trading, appeared as a suspect at the Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on September 15. Photo by Yonhap News
On November 5, the Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that it is conducting a second round of questioning of Chairman Bang.
According to the police, Chairman Bang is accused of violating the Capital Markets Act by engaging in fraudulent unfair trading. Specifically, prior to Hybe's listing in 2019, he allegedly deceived existing Hybe investors, including venture capital firms, by stating that there were no plans for an initial public offering (IPO), and then induced them to sell their shares to a special purpose company (SPC) established by a private equity fund with which he was affiliated.
Based on Bang's statements, the investors sold their shares to the SPC; however, financial authorities determined that during this period, Hybe was already undergoing preliminary IPO procedures, such as applying for a designated auditor. Subsequently, Chairman Bang proceeded with the IPO and reportedly obtained illicit gains totaling 190 billion won, including receiving 30% of the capital gains from the private equity fund.
On this day, the police plan to use the evidence they have gathered so far to substantiate allegations regarding Chairman Bang's intent to deceive and whether he colluded with the private equity fund.
Meanwhile, it is known that Chairman Bang has appeared before the police a total of three times. After his first appearance on September 15, the investigation was not concluded, leading to additional questioning, and he is currently undergoing his second round of questioning today.
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