South Korean media reports indicated on Tuesday that authorities had sought an arrest warrant for K-pop powerhouse HYBE’s Chairman and Founder Bang Si Hyuk, the man behind the fan-favourite boy group BTS.
As relayed by The Korea Herald and several other K-media outlets, the Metropolitan Police Agency’s financial crimes investigation unit revealed that Bang was booked on charges of fraudulent and unfair trading. The 53-year-old billionaire executive has long been under fire due to an ongoing investigation into HYBE’s years-old initial public offering (IPO).
While officials quoted in these reports indicated that authorities were moving to take the K-pop icon into custody, HYBE has yet to issue an official statement about the purported development involving one of the most influential personalities on the global music scene.
Update: Bang Si Hyuk’s side responds
Bang Si Hyuk’s attorney has since issued a statement to K-media outlet SPOTV News, saying, “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.”
Why is Bang Si Hyuk under scrutiny?
Famously recognised as the sole self-made billionaire in the South Korean entertainment industry, the HYBE boss ranked No 16 on Forbes 2025 “Korea’s 50 Richest” list unveiled last year. However, the South Korean executive, whose estimated net worth (Forbes) was revised to $2.4 billion in October 2025, hasn’t just been the subject of illustrious headlines lately.
Having been under investigation on suspicion of violating the South Korean Capital Markets Act, Bang was accused of scoring illicit gains worth about 190 billion won ($129 million) through a private equity fund involving former executives during HYBE’s 2019 initial public offering (IPO) process. In light of the ongoing investigation, ‘Hitman Bang’ has also been under a travel ban since August 2025.
The Seoul Police has questioned the HYBE founder on multiple occasions as part of the investigation, as he was also accused of providing misleading information to investors ahead of the company’s 2019 IPO.
South Korean authorities’ latest move on the case followed shortly after Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Park Jung Bo announced during a press briefing that the investigation into Bang’s conduct was “essentially complete,” and an announcement would follow soon.
Contradictory reports about Bang Si Hyuk’s travel ban
Shockingly, the update also comes after contradictory K-media reports sought to establish that the US Embassy had sent a letter to the Korean National Police Agency earlier this month, requesting that Bang be allowed to travel alongside other HYBE executives to the US despite his travel ban.
The embassy’s letter allegedly cited the celebrations of the upcoming 250th anniversary of US independence on July 4, in addition to mentioning the BTS “ARIRANG” world tour. The sensational boy group’s North American leg of the tour is set to kick off in a few days.
However, a HYBE official has since disputed these claims in a statement shared with The Korea Herald. “We have not requested the US Embassy to seek the lifting of Chairman Bang’s travel ban,” they said, adding that the entertainment company had not made any decision on whether the billionaire founder will attend the US Independence Day celebrations because he has not received a formal invitation from the US Embassy.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Park Jung Bo responded to the claim, saying that Seoul Police had not received any such request from the US Embassy about temporarily lifting Bang’s travel ban. He told reporters that the letter could have been sent to the agency’s parent body, Korean National Police Agency, but there was no such information corroborating that belief at the time.