{"id":322320,"date":"2026-04-21T19:01:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=322320"},"modified":"2026-04-21T19:01:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:31:55","slug":"k-pop-mogul-behind-bts-being-sought-by-police-in-south-korea-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/21\/k-pop-mogul-behind-bts-being-sought-by-police-in-south-korea-national\/","title":{"rendered":"K-pop mogul behind BTS being sought by police in South Korea &#8211; National"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>South Korean police said Tuesday they&#8217;re in search of to arrest music mogul Bang Si-Hyuk, chairman of the agency behind K-pop supergroup BTS, as they expand an investigation into allegations that he illegally gained greater than $100 million in an investor fraud scheme.<\/p>\n<p>The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency confirmed that it has asked prosecutors to request a court warrant for arresting Bang, the billionaire founder and chairman of Hybe.<\/p>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"tp_video_miniplayer\">\n<section id=\"miniplayer_69e77ada86338-carousel\" class=\"l-videoCarousel l-videoCarousel--embed c-carousel\" data-video-carousel-play-inline=\"true\" data-video-carousel-init=\"false\" aria-label=\"Video carousel contains 3 videos.\">\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__inner\">\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__featured\">\n<div class=\"c-video c-videoPlay \" data-iframe-receiver=\"\" data-autoplay=\"\" data-displayinline-featured=\"true\" data-displayinline-type=\"video\" data-displayinline-player-id=\"miniplayer_69e77ada86338\" data-displayinline-video-id=\"11740857\" data-displayinline-ratio=\"16:9\" data-displayinline=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/video\/embed\/playlist\/11740857,10713279,9350103\/?poster=https%3A%2F%2Fi1.wp.com%2Fmedia.globalnews.ca%2Fvideostatic%2Fnews%2F2ovp863xb5-p260rwnnj0%2FBTS_SITE_thumbnail_1280x720_.jpg%3Fw%3D1200%26quality%3D70%26strip%3Dall#autoplay&#038;stickyiframe=miniplayer_69e77ada86338\" data-displayinline-playlist=\"11740857,10713279,9350103\" data-displayinline-sticky=\"true\" data-permutive-data='{\"content\":{\"name\":\"BTS makes comeback as K-pop group reunites in Seoul after military service\",\"type\":\"video\",\"sections\":[\"videos\",\"national\",\"entertainment\",\"world\"],\"keywords\":[\"army\",\"bts\",\"international\",\"korea\",\"short-clip\"],\"iab\":{\"categories\":[\"Arts and Entertainment\",\"Arts and Entertainment\/Music and Audio\"],\"tags\":[\"64th Annual Grammy Awards\",\"Ariana Grande\",\"Arrest\",\"Associated Press\",\"Bang Si-hyuk\",\"Billionaire\",\"BTS\",\"Canadian dollar\",\"Company\",\"Concert\",\"Conscription in South Korea\",\"Contract\",\"Drunk driving\",\"Equity (finance)\",\"Florida\",\"Fraud\",\"Girl group\",\"Goyang\",\"Grammy Awards\",\"Hybe\",\"Initial public offering\",\"Investor\",\"Justin Bieber\",\"K-pop\",\"Katseye\",\"Korea\",\"Las Vegas\",\"Le Sserafim\",\"Min Hee-jin\",\"National Police Agency (South Korea)\",\"NewJeans\",\"Police\",\"Pop music\",\"Private equity\",\"Private equity fund\",\"Prosecutor\",\"Question\",\"Rift\",\"Scooter Braun\",\"Securities fraud\",\"Seoul\",\"Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency\",\"South Korea\",\"Stock\",\"Subsidiary\",\"Suga\",\"Tampa, Florida\",\"Tokyo\",\"United States\",\"Warrant (law)\"]}}}'>\n<div class=\"c-video__inner \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__placeholder\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'BTS makes comeback as K-pop group reunites in Seoul after military service'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/2ovp863xb5-p260rwnnj0\/BTS_SITE_thumbnail_1280x720_.jpg?w=1040&#038;quality=70&#038;strip=all\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"\" sizes=\"auto, \" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1040px) 1040px,(min-width: 720px) 720px,450px\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__overlay\"><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"c-video__duration\">1:56<\/time><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__title\">BTS makes comeback as K-pop group reunites in Seoul after military service<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__glide glide \">\n<div class=\"glide__arrows c-carousel__buttons l-videoCarousel__buttons\" data-glide-el=\"controls\">\n\t<button class=\"glide__arrow glide__arrow--left c-carousel__button c-carousel__prev l-videoCarousel__button l-videoCarousel__prev c-longform-gallery__prev\" data-glide-dir=\"<\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Previous Video<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/button><br \/>\n\t<button class=\"glide__arrow glide__arrow--right c-carousel__button c-carousel__next l-videoCarousel__button l-videoCarousel__next c-longform-gallery__next\" data-glide-dir=\">&#8220;><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Next Video<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t<button class=\"c-carousel__goto\" data-glide-dir=\"=0\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><\/button>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t<!-- video stream item --><\/p>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Bang\u2019s legal team in an announcement to The Associated Press did indirectly address the accusations but expressed regret that police were in search of his arrest \u201cdespite our full and consistent cooperation with the investigation over an prolonged period.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are going to proceed to cooperate with all legal procedures and make every effort to obviously explain our position,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup\" data-newsletter-inline=\"\">\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/skyline\/national.jpg\" alt=\"Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won't miss a trending story.\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__content\">\n<h2 class=\"c-inlineSignup__title\">Get breaking National news<\/h2>\n<p>Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox because it happens so you will not miss a trending story.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Bang, who has been barred from leaving the country since August, is being investigated over allegations that he misled investors in 2019 by telling them Hybe had no plans to go public, prompting them to sell their shares to a non-public equity fund, before the corporate proceeded with an initial public offering.<\/p>\n<p>Police consider that the fund can have paid Bang around 200 billion won (roughly CAD $185 million) in a side deal that promised him 30 per cent of post-IPO stock sale profits.<\/p>\n<p>Hybe officials say Bang denies any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n<p>Bang\u2019s legal troubles are a significant public relations setback for Hybe, coming as BTS embarks on a world tour after a virtually four-year hiatus as its seven members served their\u00a0mandatory military service, which is required for many able-bodied South Korean males.<\/p>\n<p>BTS performed in front of tens of hundreds of international fans at a free\u00a0comeback concert\u00a0in Seoul last month and have also held several live shows in South Korea\u2019s Goyang city and Tokyo. The group is to kick off a series of U.S. events with a concert in Tampa, Florida, later this month.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"caption\">\n<figure class=\"c-figure c-figure--alignnone c-figure--expandable\">\n<div class=\"c-figure__inner\"><figcaption class=\"c-figure__caption c-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-caption__desc\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tFILE \u2013 Korean group BTS appears on the sixty fourth Annual Grammy Awards in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022.\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"c-caption__cite\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tJordan Strauss\/Invision\/AP, File\t\t\t\t<\/cite><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-tabs\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab c-tabs__tab--active\" type=\"button\">More on Entertainment<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab\" type=\"button\">More videos<\/button>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Bang, a music executive and producer who founded Hybe as Big Hit Entertainment in 2005, is widely seen as one of the vital powerful figures in K-pop and has sought to capitalize on the worldwide success of BTS to construct his company into a global pop powerhouse.<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, Hybe spent about $1 billion to buy Scooter Braun\u2019s Ithaca Holdings, securing the management rights to artists like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande.<\/p>\n<p>While Hybe\u2019s roster includes a few of K-pop\u2019s biggest acts, similar to Seventeen, Le Sserafim and Katseye along with BTS, the corporate has seen turmoil lately, including a highly public fallout between Bang and star producer Min Hee-Jin over the favored girl group NewJeans.<\/p>\n<p>The rift erupted in 2024 when Hybe attempted to remove Min as CEO of Ador, the subsidiary managing NewJeans, while accusing her of illegally attempting to take control of that company.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Min, in turn, accused Bang of hostile treatment and of undermining NewJeans in favour of other groups, because the dispute moved into courts. Members of NewJeans, who&#8217;ve described Min as a mentor, tried to go away the label following her ouster, but a court last yr ruled they need to honour their contract through 2029.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t&#038;copy 2026 The Canadian Press\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South Korean police said Tuesday they&#8217;re in search of to arrest music mogul Bang Si-Hyuk, chairman of the agency behind K-pop supergroup BTS, as they expand an investigation into allegations that he illegally gained greater than $100 million in an investor fraud scheme. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency confirmed that it has asked prosecutors to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":322321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20691],"tags":[5415,1804,17012,2259,1903,9116,30517,3685],"class_list":["post-322320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-bts","tag-korea","tag-kpop","tag-mogul","tag-national","tag-police","tag-sought","tag-south"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322320"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":322323,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322320\/revisions\/322323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}