South Korean prosecutors have rejected a police request for an arrest warrant in opposition to HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, simply days after officers utilized for his detention in reference to an investigation into alleged unfair buying and selling tied to the corporate’s 2020 IPO.
That’s based on Yonhap Information Company, which stories right now (April 24) that the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Workplace declined the warrant request. Police had utilized for the warrant on costs of unfair buying and selling beneath the Capital Markets Act, the outlet reported.
“At this stage, there may be inadequate proof to justify the need of detention, and now we have due to this fact requested a supplementary investigation,” the prosecution stated, based on Yonhap.
The choice got here after the monetary crimes unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Company utilized for an arrest warrant for Bang on Monday (April 21).
That warrant software itself adopted an announcement from Seoul Metropolitan Police Company Commissioner Park Jung-bo, who had instructed reporters the day earlier than the warrant software that that the investigation into Bang was “basically full” and nearing conclusion, as reported by The Korea Herald.
Bang is accused of deceptive traders in 2019 by telling them that HYBE (then often known as Huge Hit Leisure) had no plans to pursue an preliminary public providing, whereas the corporate was allegedly already present process pre-IPO procedures.
Traders reportedly offered their holdings to a personal fairness fund primarily based on these assurances. In accordance with Yonhap, Bang is suspected of producing roughly 260 billion received (approx. $175 million) by way of the scheme.
Bang has denied the allegations. In accordance with Yonhap, he has stated the IPO adopted the legislation and rules.
When police utilized for the warrant on April 21, Bang’s authorized workforce, in a press release to the Related Press, expressed remorse that officers have been searching for his arrest “regardless of our full and constant cooperation with the investigation over an prolonged interval.”
Bang has reportedly been beneath a journey ban since August 2025 and was summoned by police twice for questioning in September of that 12 months. He returned to Seoul from the US in August 2025 to face questioning, telling workers on the time that he felt “a deep sense of remorse” that the scenario could be affecting HYBE’s artists and workers.
As beforehand reported, Bang and three different executives have been referred to prosecutors in July 2025 by regulators for a probe into alleged unfair buying and selling related to the IPO.
The case stays beneath investigation. Prosecutors have requested that police conduct additional evidence-gathering.
Korean media reported lately that the US Embassy in Seoul had despatched a letter to the police company requesting that Bang and different HYBE executives be permitted to journey to the US, citing BTS’s ARIRANG world tour – the US leg of which opens in Tampa later this month – and July 4th celebrations.
HYBE denied involvement within the embassy letter, saying it had “not requested the US Embassy to hunt the lifting of Chairman Bang’s journey ban”.Music Enterprise Worldwide
