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On July 28, 2024, Founder and Chairman of HYBE, Bang Si-hyuk's $26.4 million Los Angeles property made headlines after HYBE re-issued its financial report due to KFTC accusing the company of intentionally falsifying or withholding information from its financial status of affairs report.
In June 2024, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) claimed that HYBE omitted private purchases made by Bang Si-hyuk. Meanwhile, on July 28, Koreaboo reported that the HYBE chairman's Los Angeles property was purchased through a BEL AIR STRADELLA, LLC subsidiary that was registered under HYBE Labels.
Reportedly, Bang Si-hyuk's Los Angeles Bel Air property was included in the rectified report. As per KFTC guidelines, this purchase falls under "private purchases," which was not mentioned earlier. The HYBE chairman bought the mansion in April 2023.
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Bang Si-hyuk's LA mansion purchase scrutinized by KFTC: Exploring the events chronologically
In May 2024, KBS reported that HYBE Corporation was classified as a conglomerate by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). Conglomerates with assets of 5 trillion won, or 3.6 billion USD or more, are classified by law as "large corporations" and are obligated to disclose corporate information.
This aims to stop corporations from using family-run affiliates to launder money illegally. However, KFTC found errors in the company's report with several alleged omitted transactions.
On June 24, 2024, Chosun Biz reported that the KFTC sent financial investigators to HYBE to conduct an on-site inquiry. Suspicion swirled that alleged falsified data was linked with chairman Bang Si-hyuk or his family relatives who owned certain HYBE affiliates.
Following this, on July 26, HYBE re-issued its rectified financial report. One of the rectifications was the addition of BEL AIR STRADELLA, LLC, a previously unnamed U.S. subsidiary. Koreaboo reported that the HYBE chairman is the sole owner of the subsidiary, formally registered in December 2023.
HYBE's latest rectified report garnered attention since the company's reports had not previously indicated the existence of this U.S. business. This subsidiary sparked conjectures among shareholders, who questioned the reasons for establishing an alleged hidden business.
Koreaboo reported that HYBE shareholders speculated that the U.S. subsidiary was founded specifically by chairman Bang Si-hyuk to buy a $26.4 million home in Los Angeles' Bel Air district. However, it is important to note that nothing has been proven by KFTC so far.
The Bel Air mansion was previously owned by the famous comedian Trevor Noah. Real estate news outlet The Real Deal reported in April 2023 that Trevor Noah bought the mansion in 2020 for $29 million. The asking price was the same until 2022 before Bang Si-hyuk purchased it for $26.4 million in April 2023.
In other news, Park Ji-won stepped down as CEO of HYBE on July 23, 2024, to focus on other private projects. Lee Jae-sang succeeded him as the newly appointed HYBE CEO.
