23 July,2025 01:17 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
BTS members
For trading on insider information on boy band BTS's military enlistment, three HYBE members received fines and suspended jail terms.
Kim, a 37-year-old employee of HYBE subsidiary Source Music, was sentenced by the Seoul Southern District Court on Tuesday to 10 months in prison with a two-year suspension and a fine of 231 million won (approx Rs 1.45 cr) for breaking the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act.
Former employees Lee, 33, of subsidiary BigHit Music, and Belift Lab, 41, were sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, and fined 51 million won and 65 million won, respectively.
A sum comparable to the losses the three had averted by selling shares using confidential knowledge was also ordered to be confiscated by the court.
The defendants allegedly sold all of their HYBE stock before the firm made a public announcement on June 14, 2022, through a YouTube video, that BTS would suspend its group activities since member Jin had joined. They prevented losses of almost 230 million won by doing this.
The stock price of HYBE fell 24.78 percent the day following the announcement of BTS.
The court stated that "an artist's actions have a significant impact on revenue in an entertainment company, so whether they continue or suspend activities is a highly sensitive matter." "This offence deserves strong social condemnation as it is a serious crime that compromises the fairness of the capital market."
In order to recompose and start working on their next album, the band has returned to the United States for a two-month boot camp. The members say the new album will be out in the spring of 2026.
All of the members are currently in Los Angeles, with the exception of Jin, who is on his solo world tour. Additionally, there are rumours that Jungkook will soon go on his own solo tour. Recently, V also performed at Lollapalooza Berlin 2025. The K Pop icon thanked his fans for the support and also expressed gratitude to Jimin for supporting and cheering him the loudest, although he wasn't attending from Berlin.
