But they addressed only one of them.
According to the latest report by local Korean media outlets, the K-Pop conglomerate, HYBE, might be in trouble with the authorities over alleged cases of illegal financial activities.
As reported previously, HYBE founder and chairman Bang Si Hyuk is currently being investigated by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on suspicions of misleading investors into selling their shares to a private equity fund (PEF) which was founded by one of his close associates.
Investigation Into HYBE Bang Si Hyuk’s Alleged Illegal Actions Gets A Major Breakthrough
As per reports on May 29, KST, the Korean police stepped up the probe and applied for a search and seizure warrant after securing witness statements and circumstantial evidence related to Bang’s crime.
The Financial Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Major Crime Unit reportedly submitted a search and seizure warrant application to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office’s Joint Securities Crime Investigation Team on May 28, KST. The warrant targets HYBE and is related to Chairman Bang’s suspected fraudulent trading.
While HYBE has not responded to the reports of the warrant against Bang, the company did address a separate search and seizure warrant that was executed by the prosecution regarding the illegal financial activities of a different HYBE employee.
According to legal sources on May 29, KST, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office conducted a search and seizure at HYBE’s headquarters as a part of a probe into employee “A.” The employee is suspected of using non-public information to gain millions of won in illegal profits.
Employee “A” allegedly purchased YG Plus stocks in January 2021 based on prior knowledge of HYBE’s (the BigHit Entertainment) investment in the company. This led to him illicitly gaining a profit of ₩240 million KRW (about $175,000 USD).
On May 30, KST, HYBE published a formal statement addressing this search and seizure by the authorities. The K-pop giant told SPOTV that they cooperated with the authorities in executing the search and seizure warrant, but clarified that “A” was a former employee at the company.
With these two high-profile financial controversies, HYBE’s reputation appears to be dwindling among the public. However, the outcome of these probes remains to be seen.