HYBE Chairman Bang Si Hyuk has been summoned by the court to testify in the trial concerning allegations of stock manipulation related to SM Entertainment.

According to legal sources on May 13th KST, the Seoul Southern District Court’s Criminal Agreement Division 15 (Presiding Judge Yang Hwan Seung) sent a witness summons to Bang on May 8th. Unless a valid reason is submitted, Bang is expected to appear in court on June 20th.

The case involves Kakao founder Kim Beom Soo, who is standing trial on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act.

Prosecutors allege that in February 2023, during the process of acquiring SM Entertainment, Kim colluded with private equity firm One Asia Partners and others to manipulate the stock price, fixing it above HYBE’s public tender offer price of 120,000 KRW(~85 USD) in order to block HYBE’s acquisition attempt.

According to the prosecution, Bang and Kim met on February 14, 2023, to discuss the SM acquisition. It is alleged that Bang asked Kim not to pursue the SM takeover. Despite this, Kim reportedly rejected HYBE’s proposal and proceeded with plans to acquire SM Entertainment.

The prosecution intends to question Bang as a witness to clarify the nature of discussions between the two executives during Kakao’s acquisition of SM Entertainment.

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