All Of Bang Si Hyuk’s HYBE Shares Frozen by Court — Is the Stock Gift to BTS Members Indirectly at Risk Too?

 

Since the beginning of this year, HYBE Chairman Bang Si Hyuk has been embroiled in legal allegations related to illicit profit-taking during the company’s stock-market listing. Police have accused Bang of intentionally concealing or falsifying information to obtain personal gains totaling 190 billion KRW (approximately 131 million USD) through a fraudulent deal with a private equity fund prior to the IPO.

Police investigations, which began in July, have included raids on HYBE’s headquarters and the Korea Exchange to gather evidence. Individuals involved in the case — including Bang Si Hyuk — have been summoned for questioning since September.

Notably, during the two months of investigations so far, Bang has been summoned five times, including interrogations that extended from midnight into the early morning. The first summons on September 15 lasted more than 14 hours, and the second took place on September 22. By November 5, another round of questioning was widely reported. Shortly after being released, he was summoned again on November 7 and 9. During the fifth summons, questioning continued until around 1 a.m. on November 10, making it the longest interrogation at over 15 hours.

Within just 56 days of investigation, Chairman Bang was summoned five times — an unusually high frequency compared to typical cases. Additionally, according to Bizhankook’s findings, the case has taken a more serious turn: The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office has issued a preservation order to secure Bang’s HYBE shares, valued at 156.8 billion KRW.

The Seoul Southern District Court approved the request on the 19th of last month after prosecutors filed for a pre-indictment asset preservation order intended to prevent Bang Si Hyuk from disposing of profit derived from alleged criminal activity. As a result, any transfer or transaction involving the 156.8 billion KRW worth of HYBE shares owned by Bang is strictly prohibited.

The court stated: “There are sufficient grounds to believe that the suspect (Bang Si-hyuk) obtained criminal proceeds from the offenses described in the summary of charges, which would be subject to confiscation under the Act on Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds. It also acknowledges concerns that the execution of a future confiscation order against the defendant may become impossible or significantly difficult.” Therefore, the court decided to approve the preservation order.

While this is not a ruling on guilt, the aggressive measures taken by investigative authorities indicate that they believe there is “significant reason” to recover assets and suggest that the case may involve multiple internal associates. The estimated illicit profit under investigation is as high as 2.626 trillion KRW.

When the news broke, discussions surrounding Bang Si Hyuk’s case were accompanied by questions about whether BTS might be indirectly affected — particularly regarding the HYBE shares Bang gifted them before the company went public. In 2020, each BTS member received 68,000 shares from Bang Si Hyuk, totaling 480,000 shares valued at approximately 64.6 billion KRW at the time (about 6.7 million USD per member).

In this scenario, several industry experts concluded that the shares Bang gifted to BTS are unlikely to be affected. Even if the fraud allegations were substantiated, the likelihood of repercussions for the members remains extremely low.

Under Korean law, asset preservation orders typically target assets belonging to the accused — meaning shares personally owned by Bang. Moreover, if the shares were legally transferred — making BTS the rightful owners — then under established principles of individual share ownership, those shares belong solely to the members and are unrelated to the donor.

Additionally, according to a 2023 HYBE press release, the “special relationship is no longer applicable, as the agreement between Chairman Bang Si Hyuk and the BTS members as shareholders has ended.” This means the members have full authority over the shares gifted to them, including rights to sell, transfer, or vote independently. Over the years, several members have in fact sold portions of their HYBE stock on their own.

On the other hand, a HYBE representative stated: “Asset preservation is merely standard procedure and is not a judgment of guilt or innocence. We have fully cooperated throughout the investigation and are awaiting the authorities’ conclusion.” From the beginning, Bang Si Hyuk has maintained that he complied fully with all legal requirements during HYBE’s IPO process and denies all allegations.

However, the legal turmoil surrounding Bang Si Hyuk — a pivotal figure in BTS’s rise — has raised concerns about potential instability within HYBE at a time when the K-pop superstars are preparing for milestone comeback plans. Although HYBE insists that the asset freeze is “routine procedure” and Bang Si Hyuk continues to assert his innocence, the case is undeniably placing pressure on both the company and BTS.