SM Entertainment co-CEO Responds to Bang Si Hyuk and Lee Soo Man's Actions
Bang Si Hyuk's movement as chairman of HYBE LABELS in acquiring SM Entertainment through Lee Soo Man, drew criticism from SM Entertainment's co-CEO. HYBE LABELS' step in taking over Lee Soo Man's position as the largest shareholder of SM Entertainment managed to make a scene.

HYBE LABELS has spent around 422.8 billion KRW for this action, and will take over other small shares from SM Entertainment.

However, the actions of the chairman of HYBE LABELS, Bang Si Hyuk, and the founder of SM Entertainment, Lee Soo Man, drew criticism from the co-CEO of SM Entertainment.

It is Lee Sung Soo and Tak Young Joon who immediately released an official statement regarding the acquisition of HYBE LABELS.

"This statement reflects the positions that have been gathered from SM Entertainment's 25 chief directors, including co-CEOs Lee Sung Soo and Tak Young Joon, as well as other officials who hold positions above division heads.

Back on February 3rd, SM Entertainment announced plans to enter a new phase of 'SM 3.0', transitioning from a single producer to a multi-production/multi-label system.

But soon after this new phase was announced, it was reported that conflicting merger and acquisition attempts were underway.

An attempt that not only undermines SM's many planned decisions, but also the values ​​SM Entertainment has built with all its artists over the years.

SM Entertainment is a company of about 600 employees, working hard every day in hopes of elevating SM Entertainment's status to become the number 1 entertainment company.

(We) are also a company that, on the basis of the efforts of its employees, has led the K-Pop industry with pride until now.

With the new phase of 'SM 3.0', SM Entertainment plans to once again take the next step to become a leading company in global entertainment with the support of fans and shareholders, and thus, we would like to convey the firm position that every employee of SM Entertainment has, all artist, who strongly disapproves of any and all outside conflicting acquisition attempts.

The strategic partnership between SM Entertainment and Kakao, which was announced publicly on February 7th, marks a step in securing the necessary components to fulfill 'SM 3.0'.

This partnership is sure to show a strong synergy effect in strengthening the global reach of IP SM content with its various applications.


This mutually beneficial strategic partnership vision has been thoroughly discussed and agreed upon with Kakao.

Therefore, we would like to emphasize that the strategic partnership with Kakao is a management decision that we feel is necessary for the fulfillment of 'SM 3.0', and thus the partnership does not have a significant role in the so-called 'management battle' which our largest shareholder insists on."

Meanwhile, HYBE LABELS, which is now the largest shareholder of SM Entertainment, is ready to acquire small shares of the agency.

They plan to own a total of up to 40% of SM Entertainment's shares by March 1st, 2023. The move from HYBE LABELS is also known to have received great support from Lee Soo Man as the founder of SM Entertainment. (www.onkpop.com)

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