South Korean prosecutors reject arrest warrant request for HYBE chairman Bang Si Hyuk

South Korean prosecutors have rejected a police request for an arrest warrant for HYBE chairman and founder Bang Si Hyuk, who is accused of unfair stock trading, citing insufficient evidence. 

According to a report by Yonhap News Agency, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office said Friday that it returned the arrest warrant request filed against Bang on charges of fraudulent unfair trading, and requested the police to conduct further investigation. 

"At this stage, there is insufficient evidence to justify the necessity of detention, and we have therefore requested a supplementary investigation," the prosecution said.

On Tuesday, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency through its Financial Crime Investigation Division announced that it had requested an arrest warrant for Bang for allegedly violating the Capital Markets Act (fraudulent unfair trading). 

According to the report, Bang is accused of misleading investors in 2019 into selling their shares prior to Hybe’s initial public offering (IPO), a move that allegedly allowed him to gain about 260 billion won (approximately P10.7 billion) in profits. 

Under the act, violations involving profits that go over 5 billion won are punishable by life imprisonment or a minimum of five years in prison. 

Bang has denied the allegations, maintaining that the investors themselves requested the sale and originally proposed the profit-sharing arrangement. 

In a previous statement, the entertainment executive, through his legal counsel, said he found the arrest warrant request "regrettable" as he has been cooperating with the authorities. 

“It is regrettable that an arrest warrant has been requested despite his sincere cooperation with the investigation over a long period of time. We will faithfully participate in future legal proceedings and do our utmost to clarify the facts," Bang's lawyer said. 

Per Yonhap, the probe into Bang began after police received a tip-off in late 2024, leading authorities to raid both the Korea Exchange and HYBE headquarters in 2025. 

Bang has since been barred from leaving South Korea. However, the United States Embassy in Seoul recently requested that authorities allow him to travel to the United States to participate in BTS' world tour activities. 

—Jade Veronique Yap/CDC, GMA News