South Korean prosecutors reject warrant request for Bang Si-Hyuk

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South Korean prosecutors rejected a police request for an arrest warrant for Bang Si-Hyuk, the chairman of HYBE and the founder of the agency behind BTS, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office said Friday. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency had asked prosecutors earlier this week to seek the warrant as Bang faces a high-profile investigation into alleged investor fraud.

In rejecting the request, prosecutors said the warrant application did not provide sufficient grounds to justify Bang’s detention, according to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office. Prosecutors instructed the police investigators to strengthen their case.

Prosecutors also questioned whether Bang should be detained as the investigation proceeds, and they said he is not viewed as a realistic threat to flee. Bang has been barred from leaving South Korea since August.

The investigation centers on allegations involving HYBE’s path to going public. Prosecutors said Bang is being investigated over claims that he misled investors in 2019 by indicating that HYBE had no immediate plans to go public, prompting them to sell their shares to a private equity fund shortly before HYBE proceeded with an initial public offering.

Police believe the private equity fund paid Bang about 200 billion won (about $135 million) in what prosecutors described as a side deal that promised him 30% of the post-IPO stock-sale profits. Bang denies any wrongdoing, and HYBE officials said he has been cooperating with the investigation for months.

Bang’s legal troubles add pressure for the company as BTS resumes public activity following a nearly four-year hiatus caused by members’ mandatory military service. BTS held a free comeback concert in Seoul last month for tens of thousands of international fans, and it later performed in Goyang, South Korea, and in Tokyo.

The group is scheduled to begin a series of U.S. events with a concert in Tampa, Florida, over the weekend, while prosecutors continue reviewing the case surrounding Bang and the alleged investor fraud.