BTS just discharged from the military and the boss is caught up in a big mess? HYBE founder Bang Si-hyuk suspected of improper trading profits of 400 billion KRW

According to reports, Bang Si-hyuk, the founder of HYBE Entertainment and the boss of the world-class KPOP boy group BTS, has recently come under the scrutiny of the Korean Financial Supervisory Service. This is mainly because, during the Big Hit period, investors inquired about any plans for an IPO. At that time, Bang Si-hyuk stated that relying solely on BTS was not enough and hoped to wait until other artists could also support the company before going public. Unexpectedly, a year after Bang Si-hyuk denied the IPO plans, HYBE went public. At that time, investors sold their stocks to HYBE-affiliated funds, which profited 1.2 trillion Korean won (, approximately 25.4 billion New Taiwan dollars ).

Investors during the Big Hit period inquired about the listing plan, which was denied by Bang Si-hyuk.

HYBE Corporation was formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment, founded by producer Bang Si-hyuk. Big Hit broke into the top of the South Korean entertainment industry by acquiring small and medium-sized companies and strengthening its artists, breaking the monopoly of YG, JYP, and SM. In 2021, it was renamed HYBE, retaining Big Hit as a subsidiary label.

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According to reports, as early as the Big Hit period, investors inquired about any plans for an IPO. At that time, Bang Si-hyuk expressed that relying solely on BTS was not enough, and hoped to wait until TOMORROW X TOGETHER and another boy group under Big Hit were also developed before going public.

Bang Si-hyuk profited 400 billion won from it.

At that time, the investors believed that the paper profits had more than doubled, so they decided to sell their stocks while they could. The stocks of these investors were purchased by a private equity fund, and a year after the fund indicated to the investors that there were no plans for an IPO, HYBE went public. After the IPO, the private fund sold the stocks, making a profit of 1.2 trillion Korean won (, approximately 25.4 billion New Taiwan dollars ).

What's even more alarming is that there are two individuals related to HYBE in the private equity fund. The contract signed by Bang Si-hyuk includes a clause that "30% of the investment returns are shared," which means Bang Si-hyuk can earn up to 400 billion Korean Won (, approximately 8.5 billion New Taiwan Dollars ) from this transaction.

Reports indicate that these behaviors were not written in HYBE's securities filing, thus considered to violate the fraudulent and improper trading provisions of the Capital Markets Act. Moreover, since HYBE's investors are involved in the National Pension, many believe this matter has evolved into an issue that concerns the entire nation.

From a timeline perspective, is BTS and TXT more successful, or is it the real estate trading of房時赫?

The author整理ed the currently revealed information and整理ed the timeline. HYBE went public on October 15, 2020, "a year after Heo stated to investors that there were no plans for an IPO, HYBE went public," indicating that investors inquired about IPO plans around October 2019.

In November 2019, BTS won the Tour of the Year, Favorite Group, and Favorite Social Artist at the 2019 American Music Awards. In December 2019, BTS took home four major awards at the Melon Music Awards and Mnet Asian Music Awards, and at the 34th Golden Disc Awards, BTS became the only Korean artist in history to win both the Album of the Year and the Digital Song of the Year at the same ceremony.

In February 2020, BTS released the album "Map of the Soul: 7," which surpassed 4.1 million sales in just 9 days. In March 2020, BTS became the first Korean artist to have cumulative album sales surpassing 20 million, making the group the best-selling artist in Korean history.

On April 20 of the same year, through a shareholders' meeting, Bang Si-hyuk was appointed as the chairman of the board and sole representative director. On May 25, the acquisition of PLEDIS Entertainment was announced, and on August 3, in order to strengthen long-term cooperation with key artists and boost morale, a total of 478,695 shares of Big Hit common stock were granted to the seven members of BTS.

At the same time, Big Hit's rookie boy group TXT made their return on October 21, 2019, with their first studio album "The Dream Chapter: MAGIC", and the next day they topped the iTunes charts in 25 regions worldwide, setting the highest record for a rookie group in Korea.

Whether the whole incident is insider trading or if HYBE, seeing the success of BTS and TXT, decided to go public relies on the judgment of the Financial Supervisory Commission.

This article discusses whether BTS's boss got into big trouble right after their discharge? HYBE founder Bang Si-hyuk is suspected of making improper trades and profiting 400 billion won, first reported by Chain News ABMedia.