The U.S. Embassy in Korea is said to have asked for cooperation to allow HYBE Chair Bang Si-hyuk, who is under police investigation on suspicion of "fraudulent dishonest transaction" and is under a travel ban, to visit the United States.
According to police and others on the 19th, the U.S. Embassy in Korea recently delivered a letter of cooperation to the Korean National Police Agency addressed to the acting commissioner general. The letter is said to have asked that Bang and other senior HYBE executives, including CEO Lee Jae-sang and Vice President Kim Hyun-jung, be allowed to travel to the United States.
The stated reasons for the visit reportedly include attending the United States' 250th Independence Day event scheduled for July 4 and supporting BTS's U.S. tour as part of its ongoing world tour.
Earlier, police imposed a travel ban on Bang. Police have summoned Bang for questioning five times and are now conducting a final legal review. Bang is suspected of violating the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act by telling existing investors and venture capital (VC) firms around 2019, before HYBE's listing, that there were "no plans to list," then inducing them to transfer equity to a private equity fund (PEF) set up by an acquaintance.