South Korean police seek to arrest K-pop mogul behind BTS
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean police mentioned Tuesday they’re looking for to arrest music mogul Bang Si-Hyuk, chairman of the company behind K-pop supergroup BTS, as they increase an investigation into allegations that he illegally earned greater than $100 million in an investor fraud scheme.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency confirmed that it has requested prosecutors to request a courtroom warrant for arresting Bang, the billionaire founder and chairman of Hybe.
Bang’s authorized crew in a press release to The Associated Press didn’t straight deal with the accusations however expressed remorse that police have been looking for his arrest “despite our full and consistent cooperation with the investigation over an extended period.”
“We will continue to cooperate with all legal procedures and make every effort to clearly explain our position,” the assertion mentioned.
Bang, who has been barred from leaving the nation since August, is being investigated over allegations that he misled buyers in 2019 by telling them Hybe had no plans to go public, prompting them to promote their shares to a non-public fairness fund, earlier than the corporate proceeded with an preliminary public providing. Police imagine that the fund could have paid Bang round 200 billion received ($136 million) in a facet deal that promised him 30% of post-IPO inventory sale income.
Hybe officers say Bang denies any wrongdoing.
Bang’s authorized troubles are a significant public relations setback for Hybe, coming as BTS embarks on a world tour after an almost four-year hiatus as its seven members served their mandatory military servicewhich is required for many able-bodied South Korean males.
BTS carried out in entrance of tens of 1000’s of worldwide followers at a free comeback concert in Seoul final month and have additionally held a number of live shows in South Korea’s Goyang metropolis and Tokyo. The group is to kick off a collection of US occasions with a live performance in Tampa, Florida, later this month.
Bang, a music government and producer who based Hybe as Big Hit Entertainment in 2005, is extensively seen as one of the vital highly effective figures in K-pop and has sought to capitalize on the worldwide success of BTS to construct his firm into a world pop powerhouse.
In 2021, Hybe spent about $1 billion to buy Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, securing the administration rights to artists like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande.
While Hybe’s roster contains a few of K-pop’s greatest acts, equivalent to Seventeen, Le Sserafim and Katseye as well as to BTS, the corporate has seen turmoil lately, together with a extremely public fallout between Bang and star producer Min Hee-Jin over the favored woman group NewJeans.
The rift erupted in 2024 when Hybe tried to take away Min as CEO of Ador, the subsidiary managing NewJeans, whereas accusing her of illegally trying to take management of that firm. Min, in flip, accused Bang of hostile therapy and of undermining NewJeans in favor of different teams, because the dispute moved into courts. Members of NewJeans, who’ve described Min as a mentor, tried to depart the label following her ouster, however a courtroom final yr dominated they have to honor their contract by way of 2029.
