Bang Si-Hyuk Donates HYBE Shares To Fund Employee Compensation Amid Unfair Share Trading Case

Following the completion of the donation, Bang’s equity stake in HYBE is expected to decrease from 30.55% to 28.90%. HYBE founder and chairman Bang Si-hyuk is set to donate a portion of his stake in the company. As per the electronic disclosure system, Bang plans to donate 7,11,534 shares of HYBE common stock, representing approximately 1.65% of the company’s total outstanding shares. Based on the closing price on the day of the filing, the shares are valued at around 270 billion won. The donation period is scheduled to run from February 16 to April 13, 2026. The filing specifies that the transaction will be carried out as a free donation, not a sale, meaning no monetary compensation will be received in return for the shares. “Bang Si-hyuk, chair of HYBE, decided to donate part of the shares he personally holds to the company to fund performance-based compensation for executives and employees," a HYBE official said. Following the completion of the donation, Bang’s equity stake in HYBE is expected to decrease from 30.55% to 28.90%. Despite the reduction, he will retain his position as the company’s largest shareholder. It should be noted that this comes at a time when Bang has also been making headlines in connection to the alleged unfair share trading case. He has been accused of indulging in fraudulent and unfair trading under the Capital Markets Act. The financial watchdog is investigating Bang over allegations that he misled investors by denying any plans for an IPO. With this, he encouraged them to sell their HYBE shares to a private equity fund (PEF) linked to him. This was around the time when HYBE was secretly preparing to go public. Therefore, when the company eventually did file for an IPO, Bang reportedly benefited through a 30% return-sharing deal with the PEF, a transaction not disclosed during the IPO process. This means that if found guilty and the gains exceed 5 billion KRW (approximately $3.64 million), Bang could face life imprisonment or a minimum of five years in prison. HYBE manages some of the biggest names in K-pop, including BTS, Tomorrow X Together, LE SSERAFIM, NewJeans, BOYNEXTDOOR, and KATSEYE.