As fans are aware, HYBE Chairman Bang Si Hyuk has been embroiled in legal allegations related to illicit gains during the listing of the K-pop empire since earlier this year. Police allege that Bang intentionally concealed or misrepresented information to personally profit 190 billion won (approximately 131 million USD) through a fraudulent deal with a private investment fund prior to the IPO.

If the allegations are proven true, his actions could constitute securities fraud or investment fraud under South кσяєαn law — crimes that carry potential prison sentences ranging from five years to life imprisonment. From the outset, Bang Si Hyuk has maintained that he fully complied with all legal regulations during HYBE’s IPO process and has denied the related allegations.

Nevertheless, ρσℓι¢є investigations have been ongoing since July. Authorities raided HYBE’s headquarters and the stock exchange to collect evidence, and relevant figures, including Bang Si Hyuk, have been summoned to provide statements since September. The HYBE chairman was also barred from leaving the country starting in October to facilitate the investigation.

Notably, during the two-month investigative period so far, ρσℓι¢є have summoned him five times, including interrogations that extended from midnight into the early morning. On November 18, the Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency reported that this month they summoned Bang two additional times for questioning.

That is, following the widely reported investigation on November 5, he was summoned again on November 7 and 9. Particularly during the fifth summons, the investigation lasted until around 1 a.m. on November 10, making it the longest interrogation at over 15 hours. Previously, the first summons on September 15 lasted over 14 hours, and the second summons occurred on September 22.

Compared to standard investigative practices, the fact that Chairman Bang Si Hyuk, the central figure in the case, was summoned repeatedly from September to November over two months is unusual. Typically, after multiple raids and witness interviews, investigators would summon the main figure to complete the inquiry. Yet in just 56 days of investigation, Chairman Bang was summoned five times, with each session lasting many continuous hours.

Some netizens have suggested that the frequency reflects the complexity and difficulty of the case, but many experts and fans have expressed skepticism about the investigation’s мєтнods. Some voiced disappointment that Bang has been repeatedly summoned without any evidence of wrongdoing being found, questioning whether the ρσℓι¢є are aware of the negative impacts of the process.

In an editorial titled “Hallyu’s Rise, National Dignity, and Tolerance for Bang Si-hyuk”, Kim Soon-hwan (Editor-in-Chief of Pinpoint News) wrote: “Many BTS fans and members of the public felt disheartened watching this unfold, believing it is regrettable that ‘artist Bang Si-hyuk,’ who is neither a financial nor accounting expert, continues to be called in for questioning.”

Kim further emphasized: “Artist Bang Si-hyuk, who produced exceptional K-pop acts such as BTS, has achieved what even the British, French, Germans, and נαραиese could not — bringing Hallyu into the mainstream of global culture. As a key figure behind Hallyu’s rise and the nation’s elevated status, it is time to stop repeatedly summoning him before authorities over management-related issues.

If кσяєαn society aims to stand alongside advanced nations, tolerance and respect for those who have elevated national prestige must become fundamental values. The more developed a country is, the more it recognizes and honors its national treasures — artists and innovators who serve the nation. Even without granting Bang Si-hyuk special privileges, society must show enough tolerance to allow him to continue paving a sustainable path for Hallyu. It is time we demonstrate wisdom — to honor what deserves honor, and to avoid the folly of ‘кιℓℓing the cow to straighten its horn.’”

Another journalist, Kim Hyung-gyu, expressed a similar opinion in an article titled “We need an ‘industrial evaluation,’ not a ‘witch hunt’ for Bang Si-hyuk.”

Meanwhile, when media asked a Seoul ρσℓι¢є official, “How long will it take to apply for an arrest warrant or forward the case file for Chairman Bang?” the official simply responded that the investigation has progressed significantly. This answer did little to satisfy public outrage.

When news of the fifth investigation spread online, fans expressed a wide range of opinions:

- Why do they keep bothering this man? He's a visionary, he has powers of divination, he knows the future! If others didn't trust him, that's their problem. He managed to create soмєтнing great, and that's what bothers them. Go find your shamans to guide you and leave him alone.

- They’ve called him to the ρσℓι¢є station five times, totaling around 50+ hours, and at this point it’s turning into harαѕѕment. It feels like the ρσℓι¢є are abusing their power and trying to pressure him into confessing to soмєтнing that wasn’t even illegal at the time.

- This investigation is dragging on way too long. It feels like someone in the law enforcement hates BSH. I just hope no one is abusing their power because the timing is getting iffy. They always seem to investigate him around that woman’s court dates. It feels like retaliation.

- Isn't any legal Department above it that should intervene and say enough is enough?

- His lawyer should start billing them for the hours!

- So they have nothing on BPD and at this point it's just harαѕѕment. Got it.

- That means they have zero evidence and keep digging to find soмєтнing because now they're looking like clowns

- This is just harαѕѕment. Absolutely disgusting.

- Feels like they are trying to shake him down for money at this point

- ρσℓι¢є said theres progress but theyve been doing their summons for months over ONE man and they cant move past interrogations

- They cannot get anything out of him so they plan to exhaust the fck outta him… basically mentally exhausting n harαѕѕing him…

- The ρσℓι¢є are a joke. It’s straight harαѕѕment at this point. They got nothing on the man cuz it was all legal. All they are doing is making themselves look like complete tools