Police, Bang Si-hyuk, suspected of 190 billion won in unfair transactions, was publicly summoned today (15th)
Sep 15, 2025
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The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's financial crime investigation team will summon Chairman Bang as a suspect at 10 a.m. on the 15th to investigate the alleged violation of the Capital Markets Act. A police official also left open the possibility of being on the photo line, saying, "We cannot confirm whether a request for private attendance is made, but in principle, public attendance."
Bang is accused of letting existing investors, including venture capital, know that there is no plan for an IPO in 2019 before going public in Hive and then selling his stake to a special purpose corporation (SPC) established by a private equity fund (PEF) related to him. In fact, the financial authorities believe that Hive was in the process of pre-IPO procedures at this time.
Police believe that Chairman Bang received 30% of the profits from the sale of shares from private equity funds through the transaction, earning about 190 billion won to 400 billion won in unfair profits. At that time, the details of the contract between the shareholders were not disclosed during the Hive IPO process and were not listed in the securities report submitted to the Financial Supervisory Service.
In response to this, Hive has stated that there is no violation of the relevant laws and regulations and there is no obligation to report.
Chairman Bang also completely denies the allegations. He is in the position that "no false information has been provided to early investors, and the terms of profit allocation are also in accordance with the investor's proposal.' Last August, I emailed all of my employees to see if they missed anything in the growth process, and I'm committed to protecting Hive from harm to artists and staff"I will continue to investigate faithfully.", he also said.
Police have already seized and searched Hive's headquarters to secure related data, and the Financial Supervisory Service's special judicial police and the Financial Services Commission's Securities and Futures Commission are also considering whether they violate the Capital Markets Act and the level of sanctions. Through this summons, the company plans to focus on the process of selling its stake, the structure of the contract, and the details of information provision.
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