- South Korean prosecutors have rejected a police request for an arrest warrant for music tycoon Bang Si-Hyuk, the chair of Hybe, the agency behind K-pop supergroup BTS.
- Bang is currently under a high-profile investigation into alleged investor fraud, though prosecutors deemed there were insufficient grounds to justify his detention.
- The investigation centres on claims that Bang misled investors in 2019 by indicating Hybe had no immediate plans to go public, prompting them to sell shares to a private equity fund before the company proceeded with an initial public offering.
- Police suspect a side deal where the fund may have paid Bang approximately 200 billion won (about £100 million), promising him 30 per cent of post-IPO stock sale profits.
- Bang, who has been barred from leaving the country since August and denies any wrongdoing, is fully cooperating with the investigation, with his legal team criticising the police's attempt to seek his arrest.
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