[Official] Bang Si-hyeok's legal team: "Expect doubts about fraudulent unfair transactions to be resolved"

*This content was translated by AI.

Bang Si-hyeok, Chairman of HYBE, expressed his position regarding the transfer of the case to the Prosecution Service through his legal team.

On the 3rd, Bang Si-hyeok's legal team stated, "We have consistently provided explanations based on objective data and evidence regarding the allegations raised," and added, "We expect that the doubts will be transparently resolved through future procedures."

Earlier today, the Seoul National Police Agency's Metropolitan Investigation Team for Financial Crimes announced that it had transferred Bang Si-hyeok, Chairman of HYBE, along with four other individuals including HYBE executives and private equity fund officials, to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office without arrest on suspicion of fraudulent unfair transactions under the Capital Markets Act.

According to police, Bang Si-hyeok and others are suspected of misleading existing HYBE (then Big Hit) investors, including venture capital firms, in 2019 by falsely claiming there were no plans for an initial public offering (IPO), while recommending that they sell their shares to a specific private equity fund. Police believe the suspects deceived existing shareholders into believing there would be no IPO, induced them to purchase shares through the private equity fund, and then sold those shares after the IPO, thereby gaining approximately 263.1 billion won in illicit profits.

Regarding Kim Jung-dong, former Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of HYBE, who fled abroad just before a search and seizure operation, police have obtained an arrest warrant and requested his designation as a fugitive along with an Interpol Red Notice. Additionally, prosecutors have applied for the preservation of illicit gains obtained through the alleged crimes prior to indictment, and the court has approved full recovery of these gains.

According to the police investigation, although the company was preparing for an IPO, it recommended existing shareholders sell their stakes in a private equity fund while falsely claiming there were no plans for listing. The private equity fund, meanwhile, recruited investors by guaranteeing a confirmed IPO and returns to facilitate the purchase of shares from existing shareholders.

A police official explained, "Under the shared goal of profiting from the IPO price difference, the management concealed information about the planned listing from existing shareholders to secure personal gains," adding that this was deemed an act disrupting the order of the capital markets by undermining its fairness and credibility.

Police had previously applied for arrest warrants twice in April and May, but both requests were rejected by the Prosecution Service due to failure to conduct supplementary investigations.

In response to these allegations, HYBE has completely denied all accusations against Bang Si-hyeok and others.

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*This content was translated by AI.