South Korean police have requested a court arrest warrant for Bang Si-hyuk, the billionaire founder and chairman of Hybe — the entertainment conglomerate behind global K-pop supergroup BTS — over allegations that he defrauded investors ahead of the company's stock market debut in 2020. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency confirmed on Tuesday that it has asked prosecutors to seek the warrant, escalating a long-running investigation into one of the most powerful figures in the global music industry.
Bang, 53, is accused of misleading investors in 2019 by telling them that Hybe — then known as Big Hit Entertainment — had no plans to go public, prompting them to sell their shares to a private equity fund with which Bang allegedly had undisclosed ties. When Hybe debuted on South Korea's Kospi stock exchange in October 2020, the fund sold its stake at a substantial profit. Police allege that Bang received a 30% cut of those gains, amounting to approximately 200 billion won (around $136 million), in a secret side agreement. Under South Korea's Capital Markets Act, illicit gains of 5 billion won or more obtained through fabrications carry a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of life imprisonment. Bang has denied all wrongdoing throughout the investigation, and Hybe has maintained that he followed proper IPO procedures, arguing that the relevant agreement was shared with underwriters who advised that further disclosure was unnecessary.
Bang's lawyers said they "regret" the decision to seek a warrant, despite what they described as full cooperation with investigators over an extended period. Bang has been barred from leaving South Korea since August 2024, and the arrest warrant request makes a temporary lifting of that travel ban appear unlikely. The case took an unusual diplomatic turn when the U.S. Embassy in Seoul reportedly contacted South Korean police directly — bypassing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs — to request a temporary reprieve so that Bang could support BTS's ongoing world tour and participate in Fourth of July celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of American independence. The embassy has since declined to comment further, and the unconventional nature of the approach drew scrutiny in South Korea.
The legal pressure arrives at a commercially charged moment for Hybe. BTS returned from a nearly four-year hiatus — during which all seven members completed their mandatory military service, required of most able-bodied South Korean men — with a free comeback concert in Seoul in March and the release of their fifth studio album, "ARIRANG," for which Bang served as executive producer. The group's sold-out world tour across 34 cities is projected to generate more than $1 billion for the company. Hybe shares, which hit a four-year high following the BTS tour announcement in January, fell 2.3% on Tuesday following news of the warrant request.
The case forms part of a broader South Korean crackdown on stock market manipulation. High-profile figures including Samsung chairman Lee Jae-yong and Kakao founder Kim Beom-su have previously faced indictments on separate stock-rigging charges, though both were ultimately acquitted. The investigation into Bang is widely seen as a test of the current government's stated commitment to cleaning up South Korea's capital markets and addressing the persistent undervaluation of Korean stocks — a structural concern that has drawn increasing attention from regulators and policymakers alike.