Bang Si Hyuk revealed an email apologizing to HYBE employees, BTS 'flew color', what's going on?

After being featured in many newspapers, related to allegations of fraudulent transactions and illicit profits, HYBE chairman Bang Si Hyuk spoke up for the first time, writing an email apologizing to employees for his personal troubles, without mentioning BTS.

Bang Si Hyuk wrote, "With the series of events that occurred last year, and now my personal story, both the company and my name are constantly mentioned in negative articles. I can imagine the bewilderment, loss, and anxiety that many of you – who are immensely proud to be a part of HYBE – are going through.

As the founder and chairman, I feel a deep responsibility and sincerely apologize to all members for the discomfort and anxiety caused by this situation."

This may be an apology to all HYBE employees, including BTS - the group considered the 'golden egg' for HYBE in the music industry in Korea.

The HYBE chairman said that although he is busy with overseas work because of music projects and business expansion, he will soon return to South Korea to fully cooperate with the investigation by the authorities.

Bang Si Hyuk, the founder of HYBE Group, is under investigation for allegedly lying to investors, by claiming no plans to go public (IPO) in 2019, prompting them to sell their shares to a private equity fund founded by an acquaintance of Bang Si Hyuk. Meanwhile, HYBE is still speeding up the procedures to conduct an IPO.

These actions are suspected of violating the Capital Markets Act, which involves fraudulent and unfair trading practices.

Financial authorities reported that Bang Si Hyuk made illicit profits of 190 billion won, including 30% of the proceeds from the sale of shares in private investment funds.

The Securities and Futures Commission of the Korea Financial Services Commission referred Bang Si Hyuk's case to the prosecution on July 17.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Department's Financial Crimes Investigation Division has obtained a month-long warrant for a comprehensive search of HYBE's headquarters, effective until Aug. 16, to serve the investigation related to Bang Si Hyuk's allegations.

However, contrary to the noise of Bang Si Hyuk personally, HYBE's business results in the second quarter of 2025 were not 'contagious', even reaching the highest revenue in history.

According to the newly released financial report, HYBE achieved revenue of 705.6 billion won in the second quarter, up 10.2% year-on-year and up 41% from the previous quarter. Operating profit also recorded a strong breakthrough with 65.9 billion won - up 205% in just one quarter. In the context that the entire Korean entertainment industry is facing many challenges, from the saturated K-pop market to the increasingly fierce competition from China and the international market, this result is considered a surprising "counterattack" from HYBE.

This is even more remarkable when it happened at the same time that Bang Si Hyuk - the founder and power symbol of the company was prosecuted for financial fraud.

A series of critical articles, stocks plummeted, statements canceled, investor confidence wavered... It all seemed to signal an internal "earthquake". But instead of collapsing, HYBE stood firm and even accelerated.

Financial success largely comes from live performances - a field that was considered difficult to recover from the pandemic but has now become a lifeline for HYBE. In the second quarter, concerts and events brought in 447.9 billion won, accounting for more than 63% of total revenue.

According to internal figures, there are about 1.8 million fans who have attended the world tours of BTS Jin, J-Hope, SEVENTEEN , TXT, and LE SSERAFIM. Not only covering widely from Asia to the US and Europe, these tours are also carefully invested in both stage and viewer experience - a factor that helps HYBE retain fans in the era of saturated content.

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