They are accused of selling agency shares prior to the BTS members’ announcement on June 14, 2022, that they would be taking a sabbatical.
When markets opened, the news caused HYBE shares to drop 25%, losing almost 2 trillion won ($1.4 billion; £1.1 billion) in market value.
According to the authorities, the three workers prevented losses of between $24,000 and more than $108,000 by acting with previous knowledge of what was going to happen.
Many commentators conjectured at the time as to the reasons behind the band’s break, with some speculating that the members would have to report for South Korea’s mandated 18-month military service.
Since South Korea and North Korea are still nominally at war, almost all men who are physically fit must enlist for a period of 18 months by the time they are 28.
In the months and years that followed, every member of the band would be drafted.
Jin, the oldest member of the popular boy band, served his time and was released earlier this month.
The other six members of the band, J-Hope, V, RM, Jimin, Jung Kook, and Suga, are still in the military, and a reunion is not anticipated until June 2025.
