South Korean police have said they will refer HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk to prosecutors this week, closing a police investigation into the K-pop company's 2020 stock market listing that has run since December 2024, but they will not detain him after two earlier arrest warrant applications were rejected. Hong Seok-ki, head of the National Office of Investigation, confirmed the plan at a press briefing on 31 August, saying a decision on custody would come later. The case centres on allegations that Bang told investors in 2019 that HYBE, then Big Hit Entertainment, had no plans to float on the stock market while the company was simultaneously pursuing IPO procedures.

Investigators allege those investors sold stakes to a private equity-backed vehicle that Bang helped establish, from which he agreed to take roughly 30% of gains via an undisclosed earn-out contract; Korean outlets put his alleged improper gain at around KRW 190-200 billion (roughly $137-145 million), with the wider group total estimated at KRW 262.6 billion ($189m). Police raided HYBE's Seoul headquarters and the Korea Exchange in mid-2025, questioned Bang five times, and secured a court order in November 2025 freezing KRW 156.8 billion of his shares. Arrest warrant applications in April and May 2026 were both rejected by prosecutors for insufficient grounds, and Bang is now expected to be referred without a further attempt; Bang and HYBE deny the allegations, saying legal advisers found no wrongdoing.