HYBE EMPLOYEE CHARGED FOR INSIDER TRADING
Added 2024-06-27 11:53:47 +0000 UTCThree employees at affiliates of HYBE, the agency behind K-pop megastars BTS, have been charged without detention for alleged insider trading, prosecutors said Thursday.
BTS members told fans on June 14, 2022, that they were taking a break from the supergroup to focus on their solo careers, citing exhaustion and the pressures of their stratospheric success.
Many analysts said at the time the hiatus was strategic, with South Korea's mandatory 18-month military service looming for band members.
The company's share price fell nearly 25 percent when the market opened the day after the announcement, wiping nearly 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion) off its value.
Prosecutors said three employees who had prior knowledge of the announcement sold their shares before it was made public, avoiding losses ranging from around $24,063 to $108,100.
The employees worked for BTS for eight to 10 years since the group's debut, and therefore were "able to obtain this material information" that could "significantly impact investment decisions", Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office said in a statement sent to AFP.
The three had worked in a team involved in producing BTS music videos, hair and clothing, as well as another protocol planning team, the statement said.
HYBE's plans for the 2022 announcement constituted "undisclosed material information", as it was a "confidential matter that only high-ranking officials and a few work-related personnel were aware of", it added.
The prosecutor's office said it will "sternly crack down" on the use of "undisclosed material information by corporate insiders", who "exploit informational asymmetries to undermine the fair order of the stock market."
HYBE shares closed up 0.30 percent in Seoul on Thursday.
SOURCE: https://www.barrons.com/news/bts-agency-employees-charged-for-insider-trading-87a5dfb9
Comments
Elaine... You said it better than I did above. I just wonder if these are people would know that what they did was wrong or that it would even hurt anyone. I have some stocks... not a lot. I don't even use an advisor. I usually only check on them 1-2 times a year to see if I need to shift anything as I look at the long-term. If they did bad in just one quarter or even 6 months but they've been great over 5 years... then I leave them. I've done better than average that way. It was enough that I could borrow from myself and pay cash for my last car. That way when I'm paying it back... I'm really just paying myself. So I do have a car payment... but it just goes back into my investment account. Lower interest rate too. But I have to ask myself... If someone told me... Oh.. that stock or that fund was going to tank. Would I sit on my hands and just watch it? Probably not unless I knew it was illegal. People buy and sell all the time. I'm sure some sold on that same day and had no idea any drop in stock price might be coming. Others... like ARMYs could have guessed it would. If they sold would it be insider trading? It just feels like they are making examples out of little fish... when I bet some sharks and whales out there did the same and are ignored.
TheBioExplorer aka BTS7Plus1Forever aka Snow 777
2024-07-02 14:05:39 +0000 UTCSigh it is so sad for the employees that probably did not realize it was insider trading and were worried about their money. Probably thinking too that the guys were tired and might not continue like so many idols before them. BTS is a rare group of young men. They are stronger together to support each other.
Elaine
2024-07-02 12:55:19 +0000 UTC
