The National Tax Service has begun a tax investigation into HYBE, which is under investigation for fraudulent trading during its listing process.
According to related industries on the 29th, the National Tax Service sent employees to HYBE's headquarters in Seoul that day to secure related documents. This investigation is reportedly led by the Investigation Division 4 of the Seoul Regional Tax Service, which is responsible for non-periodic (special) tax investigations.
Earlier, the National Tax Service stated that it would launch a large-scale tax investigation targeting 27 corporations related to stock price manipulation and corporate raiders using false disclosures. Among the 27 corporations mentioned by the National Tax Service, HYBE appears to be included.
Currently, prosecutors under police leadership are simultaneously investigating allegations of fraudulent trading involving HYBE's Chairman Bang Si-hyuk.
Chairman Bang is accused of misleading existing HYBE investors, including venture capitalists, before the company's public listing in 2019, making them believe that the initial public offering (IPO) plan would be delayed, and then causing HYBE executives to sell equity to a special purpose corporation (SPC) established by a private equity fund they created.
After HYBE went public, the SPC sold its held shares, and Chairman Bang received 30% of the profits from the sale of the SPC in accordance with a shareholder agreement made in advance. The amount is reportedly in the range of 190 billion won.
The Securities and Futures Commission, under the Financial Services Commission, has filed a complaint against Chairman Bang for fraudulent trading and false disclosure.
The National Tax Service is expected to closely examine whether there was tax evasion by HYBE during this transaction process.