Overview

• South Korean tax authorities, the Financial Supervisory Service and police have launched parallel investigations into HYBE and founder Bang Si-Hyuk for alleged pre-IPO share manipulation and insider trading.
• Bang acknowledged in an internal memo that media reports have caused confusion and concern among employees, artists and the company’s partners.
• The chairman, currently in the United States, pledged to return to Seoul to cooperate transparently with investigators and resolve the allegations.
• Following the circulation of Bang’s memo, HYBE shares jumped about seven percent to 277,500 South Korean won.
• Under South Korea’s Capital Markets Act, convictions for fraudulent trading carry sentences ranging from five years to life imprisonment in cases involving gains over five billion won.