South Korea police said on Tuesday they are seeking to arrest music mogul Bang Si-Hyuk, chairman of the agency behind K-pop supergroup BTS, as they expand an investigation into allegations that he illegally gained more than $100m in an investor fraud scheme.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency confirmed that it has asked prosecutors to request a court warrant for Mr Bang’s arrest.
Mr Bang has been under investigation since November over allegations that he misled investors in 2019 by telling them HYBE had no plans to go public, inducing them to sell their shares to a private equity fund before the company proceeded with an initial public offering. Police believe that the fund may have paid Bang around 200 billion won ($136m) in a side deal that promised him 30 per cent of post-IPO stock sale profits.
Mr Bang, a music executive and producer who founded HYBE as Big Hit Entertainment in 2005, is widely seen as one of the most powerful figures in K-pop, overseeing some of the industry’s most popular acts, including Seventeen, Le Sserafim and Katseye in addition to BTS.
Mr Bang’s legal troubles are a major public relations setback for HYBE, coming as BTS embarks on a global tour after a nearly four-year hiatus as its members served for mandatory military service.
BTS performed in front of tens of thousands of international fans at a free comeback concert in Seoul last month and have also held several concerts in South Korea’s Goyang city and Tokyo. The group is to kick off a series of US events with a concert in Tampa, Florida, later this month.
Representatives of Bang’s agency, HYBE, did not immediately respond to AP’s requests for comment.
