Bang Si-hyuk’s arrest warrant fight continues. Even after prosecutors turned down the first request on April 24, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is still moving ahead in its legal battle involving the HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk.
Police first applied for the warrant on April 21. The case centers on HYBE’s 2019 IPO plan. Investigators allege Bang told existing investors that there were no near-term listing plans, then persuaded them to sell shares to a private equity fund secretly linked to him. Police allege that this fraud plan generated approximately 260 billion won in illegal revenue, which they believe warrants charges under the Capital Markets Act.
Why Prosecutors Rejected the Arrest Warrant
But the April 24 rejection was not a clean break for Bang. Prosecutors sent the application back and called for more investigation. The prosecution noted that investigators had failed to establish a sufficient legal basis for a physical arrest. In other words, the warrant was blocked due to a lack of immediate evidence for custody, not because the authorities are taking the charges lightly.
HYBE Official Statement
The Seoul Metropolitan Police investigation is still active. HYBE has continued to deny wrongdoing and says its IPO process followed the law.
Bang’s legal team said he had shown “full and consistent cooperation” with investigators over an extended period and expressed regret that police pursued a detention warrant despite that cooperation.
And according to the reported timeline, he has been under a travel ban since August 2025. Now another layer is drawing attention. The U.S. Embassy asked for Bang’s travel restriction to be lifted in connection with BTS tour activities, adding even more scrutiny to the Bang Si-hyuk IPO scandal as BTS continues major world tour stops.
