HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk said he will faithfully comply with legal procedures following the police's request for an arrest warrant.
On the 21st, Bang Si-hyuk's legal team told OSEN, "Although he has cooperated diligently with the investigation for a long time, we regret that an arrest warrant has been requested. He will faithfully participate in subsequent legal procedures and do his best to explain the facts," the statement said.
On that day, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's financial crimes investigation unit said it had applied for an arrest warrant for Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, who is accused of fraudulent unfair trading. Chairman Bang Si-hyuk is accused of providing information to existing investors before HYBE's 2019 listing to the effect that there were no plans to list, and then inducing them to transfer equity to a private equity fund (PEF) established by an acquaintance.
In this regard, the police say Chairman Bang Si-hyuk received 30% of the sale profit after HYBE's listing through a private undisclosed contract with the private equity fund side, receiving about 190 billion won in illicit gains.
Accordingly, last year the police carried out searches and seizures at the Korea Exchange (KRX) and HYBE, imposed a travel ban on Chairman Bang Si-hyuk, and through the courts froze HYBE shares worth about 156.8 billion won owned by Bang Si-hyuk. Afterwards, Chairman Bang Si-hyuk appeared before the police five times from September to November of the same year to undergo related investigations. Nevertheless, when the police applied for an arrest warrant, Chairman Bang Si-hyuk's side expressed regret but said, "We will do our best to explain the facts."
[photo] HYBE
[OSEN]