Bang Si-hyuk, the 53-year-old founder and chairman of HYBE, is facing possible arrest after South Korean police moved to secure a detention warrant over alleged fraud tied to the K-pop company's 2020 stock market debut.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's financial crimes unit has charged Bang with fraudulent and unfair trading, alleging he violated South Korea's Capital Markets Act and pocketed roughly 190 billion won — about $129 million — in illicit gains. Police allege he misled early investors in 2019 by assuring them HYBE had no plans to go public, then steered them to sell their stakes to a private equity fund connected to his associates. After HYBE listed in 2020 and the fund sold its position, Bang allegedly received around 30 percent of the profits under a prior agreement. He has denied any wrongdoing.
The warrant request came one day after Seoul Police Commissioner Park Jung-bo told reporters the investigation was "essentially complete." Bang has been under a travel ban since August of last year. Police raided HYBE's Seoul headquarters in July 2025, and in December a court approved a provisional seizure of his HYBE shares valued at approximately $118 million. The Hollywood Reporter noted that HYBE's stock fell as much as 2.9 percent following news of the warrant.
Bang founded Big Hit Entertainment — HYBE's predecessor — in 2005 after leaving JYP Entertainment, where he had earned the nickname "Hitman Bang" for his work as a composer and producer. The company nearly went bankrupt in 2007 before Bang signed a promising new act the following decade. That group, BTS, became the biggest pop act in the world and the first Korean group to top the Billboard Hot 100.
The legal pressure arrives at a complicated moment for the company. BTS recently launched a sold-out global comeback tour following a four-year hiatus, and rising girl group KATSEYE — also on the HYBE roster — made their Coachella debut this month. The group was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 2026 Grammy Awards. HYBE has not issued a public statement in response to Tuesday's developments.