Chairman Bang Si-hyuk of HYBE appeared before police for the second time on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act and returned home after 12 hours and 30 minutes of questioning. Bang is suspected of deceiving shareholders during the listing process to obtain unfair gains.
Bang, who appeared privately at the Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Mapo District at 10 a.m. on the 22nd, finished questioning at about 10:34 p.m. that day and walked out of the building with a stern expression.
To questions such as "What explanation did you provide?" and "Do you admit to deceptive acts against investors?", he did not respond and quickly got into a vehicle with bodyguards.
It was only a week since Bang had been summoned for questioning; police also publicly summoned him for questioning on the 15th. Police plan to decide the course of the investigation based on Bang's statements given that day.
Bang is suspected of telling HYBE shareholders in 2019 that there were no plans for a listing, then having them sell equity to a private equity fund connected to him. The Capital Markets Act prohibits acts such as obtaining property gains through lies or using wrongful schemes in connection with unlisted shares.
Police suspect that, in reality, HYBE was undergoing listing procedures and that Bang took unfair gains of 190 billion won from the private equity fund after the listing.
However, Bang's side says it complied with laws and regulations at the time of the listing.