By Patrick Brzeski, Hollywood Reporter | Bang Si-hyuk, the founder and chairman of K-pop powerhouse Hybe – the agency home of supergroup BTS – is facing possible arrest after South Korean police moved Tuesday to secure a warrant for his detention in connection with an ongoing investigation into the company’s 2020 initial public offering.
According to reports across the Korean media, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s financial crimes investigation unit said it has booked Bang on charges of fraudulent and unfair trading and is moving to take him into custody. The agency alleges that he violated South Korea’s Capital Markets Act and secured roughly 190 billion won ($129 million) in illicit gains during Hybe’s IPO process.
. . . . . . . . . .
The potential arrest represents an extraordinary moment for one of the most influential figures in the global music industry. Bang, 53, founded Big Hit Entertainment – Hybe’s predecessor – in 2005 after splitting from JYP Entertainment, where he had worked alongside founder Park Jin-young as one of the company’s first employees, earning the nickname “Hitman” Bang for his hit-making prowess as a composer and producer. Big Hit had its ups and downs and even came close to bankruptcy in 2007 -before Bang reoriented the company around a promising new boy band he signed the following decade: BTS.
Following its debut in 2013, BTS went on to become the biggest pop act in the world, smashing barriers for East Asian entertainers and becoming the first Korean group to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band is now in the early stages of a sold-out global comeback tour in support of Arirang, its first album in nearly four years.
BTS’s commercial success has transformed Big Hit into a global pop empire. The company went public on the Korea Exchange in October 2020 in what was then South Korea’s largest IPO in three years, and rebranded as Hybe in 2021. Under Bang, the company has acquired a sprawling roster of local labels. In 2021, it paid $1.05 billion to acquire Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, picking up Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande’s management rights. It has since added Atlanta hip-hop label Quality Control and moved into Latin music.
. . . . . . . . . .
Go here to read the full article and to see lots of photos:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/south-korean-police-seek-arrest-of-bts-agency-founder-bang-si-hyuk/
