It was reported on May 31, 2023, that workers from HYBE are being investigated for insider trading. It was reported that they sold their stocks after gaining information within the company.
Three members of staff were placed under suspicion of insider stock trading using information regarding the activities of global idol groups. The Financial Supervisory Service’s Capital Market Special Judicial Police sent the cases to the Seoul Southern District Prosectors’ Office with indictment opinions.
According to the envoy, these three employees were in charge of idol-related work in a label within HYBE. They had sold their stock holdings before news that BTS would temporarily be suspending group activities officially broke. After the temporary suspension was announced on June 14, 2022, HYBE stocks plunged to 24.87% the very next day. By selling the stocks before the news broke out, these employees avoided losses of up to ₩200 million KRW (about $152,000 USD) in total, according to the market prices on June 15, 2022.
The three employees were accused of violating Article 174 of the Capital Markets Act, thanks to the disposal of their shares, after internally learning about BTS’s plans. The Financial Supervisory Service plans to thoroughly investigate and sternly respond to any actions that undermine the fair trading order of the capital market.
