Lee Soo Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

SM Entertainment has responded to statements that EXO member Baekhyun made in a livestream about new music and the founding of his own company.On Monday (August 7), the K-pop idol went live on his personal Instagram account to address speculation on his finances by Korean netizens. In the livestream, Baekhyun revealed that he had personally founded a company, tentatively named One Signature, with a friend, and that he had taken out a ₩13billion (approximately £77,500) loan for it.“It’s a company I started with my friend Kasper at the thought of wanting to grow many good choreographers and dancers.

Weeekly have made their long-awaited return with new single, ‘Vroom Vroom’.‘Vroom Vroom’ is the title track of Weeekly’s new mini-album’s ‘ColoRise’, which comes a year-and-a-half after their previously release, March 2022’s ‘Play Game: Awake’.The single was arranged and co-composed by NOMASGOOD, who previously worked with the girl group on their 2021 song ‘Uni’. The songwriter is also known for working on Teen Top’s 2019 single, ‘Run Away’.‘Vroom Vroom’ finds Weeekly exploring a new sound that’s more disco-inspired, notably recalling the later works of their IST Entertainment seniors Apink.“Time to be brave / The same path is just too predictable / We’re curious about a new place / A world we’ve never been to,” the six-member group sing on ‘Vroom Vroom’.“For fans who have waited for us, we wanted to show you that we made use of this time to enhance our talents,” member Park So-eun said of ‘ColoRise’, per The Korea Herald.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The battle for corporate dominance of K-Pop has become a drama that never stops giving. After the acrimonious takeover battle between BTS-backer Hybe Corp. and tech giant Kakao for control of SM Entertainment, Korea’s financial regulators are probing the deal-making that eventually led to Kakao’s victory. Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service raided the offices of SM Entertainment on Tuesday, according to the Yonhap news agency. Investigators were looking for evidence of stock price manipulation between February and March when the two camps were skirmishing.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hybe Corp., the talent powerhouse behind K-pop sensation BTS, said on Friday that it will sell its share stake in agency rival SM Entertainment. The move would finalize Hybe’s admission of defeat in a dramatic takeover battle in which it was out-gunned by Korean tech leader Kakao Corp. Hybe initially bought a 14.8% stake in SM in February from SM’s founder and K-pop pioneer Lee Soo-man. Hybe expected to be able to buy the remaining 3% tranche held by Lee according to agreed conditions and then launched an open offer to other shareholders to buy a further 15%. But SM’s management opposed Hybe’s quasi-takeover and harnessed Kakao and its subsidiary Kakao Entertainment with a range of measures. These included a content distribution deal and the sale of newly issued shares and bonds to the Kakao pair.

HYBE founder Bang Si-hyuk has opened up about its battle against Kakao to acquire shares of K-pop agency SM Entertainment.Today (March 15), Bang delivered a keynote speech at the Gwanhun Forum, hosted by the Gwanhun Club, an association of senior journalists in Korea. Held at the Korean Press Center in Seoul, South Korea, the forum provided attendees the opportunity to gain insight into Bang and HYBE’s vision of the K-pop industry.During a Q&A session at the event, Bang opened up about HYBE’s recent attempt to acquire SM Entertainment, and its battle against South Korean internet giant Kakao over the K-pop agency.

HYBE is ceasing its acquisition of SM Entertainment, the K-pop company announced today (March 12), after a discussion with competitor Kakao.In a press statement, HYBE said it decided to suspend the acquisition after a discussion with tech giant Kakao. “The two companies agreed to cooperate on matters related to their platforms,” it added.HYBE made the decision, it said, “after observing that the market has been showing signs of overheating due to competition with both Kakao and Kakao Entertainment”.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean tech giant Kakao has gained the upper hand in the battle for control of K-pop agency SM Entertainment, after HYBE Corp., the firm behind music idols BTS, said Sunday that it had called off its takeover bid. SM is the second largest talent Korean music talent firm and is behind music acts including Super M, Aespa, BoA and Red Velvet, Girls’ Generation, H.O.T., EXO, Super Junior, SHINee and NCT Dream. HYBE said on Sunday that it will “discontinue the acquisition process […] after observing that the market has been showing signs of overheating due to competition with both Kakao and Kakao Entertainment,” something that it said could “damage shareholder value.”

Doyoung, Jaehyun and Jungwoo, members of the K-pop boyband NCT, are set to debut as a sub-unit.Earlier today (March 9), South Korean media outlet Sports Today reported that the three K-pop idols are set to form a trio sub-unit as part of their work with the boyband. Notably, the three singers previously worked together on the song ‘Can We Go Back’, which they performed at the 2022 MBC Gayo Daejejeon, as well as a Christmas medley posted on the official NCT YouTube channel.Their label SM Entertainment has since confirmed the report.

K-pop agency SM Entertainment has released a statement in support of internet giant Kakao’s tender offer to buy a large stake in the company.Yesterday (April 7), Kakao – which currently holds 4.9 per cent of the SM Entertainment – announced a tender offer to buy up to 35 per cent of the company for ₩150,000 per share. If successful, this bid would make Kakao the largest shareholder of the K-pop agency, over BTS label HYBE, which has acquired nearly 16 per cent of SM.Soon after Kakao’s announcement, SM Entertainment released a statement signalling support for the deal, citing “[Kakao’s] respect [for] the current management’s efforts to address factors that have hindered SM Entertainment’s growth”, according to CNN.In the statement, SM Entertainment also said that the Kakao deal would “ensure autonomous and independent management of the company, as well as the continuous and independent activities of SM artists”, per Yonhap News Agency.“Unlike HYBE seeking to take over SM’s board of directors through a hostile merger and acquisition, Kakao is the best horizontal and strategic partner for the successful implementation of the ‘SM 3.0’ vision as it respects SM’s own tradition and identity,” the statement reportedly said.Following Kakao’s tender offer yesterday, shares of SM Entertainment jumped 15.07 per cent to close at ₩149,700.

K-pop agency SM Entertainment, escalating its battle against BTS label HYBE.Kakao and its subsidiary Kakao Entertainment said today (March 7) in a regulatory filing that it is tendering an offer to buy up to 35 per cent of SM Entertainment for ₩150,000 per share – a 25 per cent hike over HYBE’s own bid last month. If successful, the offer could see Kakao own nearly 40 per cent of the entertainment agency, up from its current 4.9 per cent stake.“With the direction of the three companies’s growth facing a threat, Kakao decided it is inevitable to secure the largest shareholder position to protect the partnership with SM Entertainment,” Kakao said in a statement, per Reuters, adding that the bid is to ensure stable management at the music label.Kakao’s new offer sent SM Entertainment shares soaring 14 per cent to ₩148,500 today, according to Reuters.

SM Entertainment, HYBE has criticised a recent partnership the K-pop agency has forged with South Korean tech giant Kakao.Earlier this month, Kakao shared that it had acquired a 9.05 per cent stake in SM, which would have made it the second-largest shareholder of the company after founder Lee Soo-man. HYBE later announced that it had struck a deal to acquire a 14.8 per cent stake in SM from Lee, thus becoming its biggest shareholder.

SM Entertainment boyband NCT’s “infinite” expansion will come to an end in 2023, the K-pop agency has confirmed.On February 25, SM Entertainment shared the latest in its series of videos about its new ‘SM 3.0’ strategy. In this video, SM’s co-CEOs Chris Lee and Tak Young-jun answered fan questions and also announced the end of boyband NCT’s expansion in 2023.

HYBE Labels CEO Park Ji-won has issued a new open letter addressing the K-pop company’s recent acquisition of the majority stake in competing label SM Entertainment.The statement was published in Korean, English and Japanese earlier today (February 22) via HYBE’s official Twitter. It announced the completion of HYBE’s acquisition of a 14.8 per cent stake in SM, a deal which the company struck with SM founder and former chief producer Lee Soo-man earlier this month.This officially makes HYBE, home to the likes of BTS, SEVENTEEN, NewJeans and more K-pop acts, the single largest shareholder in SM.

SM Entertainment and its founder Lee Soo-man has widened further with the release of a video by the K-pop label’s CEO Chris Lee, in which he accuses Lee Soo-man of greed and airs suspicions that he attempted offshore tax avoidance, among several allegations.Chris Lee, who is also known as Lee Sung-soo and one of two current CEOs at the South Korean label, took to his personal YouTube channel to upload a 30-minute-long announcement regarding the current status of the company on February 16. The video was labelled the first part of a series of videos explaining why SM decided to sever ties with its founder Lee Soo-man (also Chris Lee’s uncle).In the video, Chris Lee accused Lee Soo-man of pushing SM to make unusual contract arrangements with a company he established overseas in a bid to avoid South Korean taxes.According to Chris Lee, Lee Soo-man had launched a new business in Hong Kong called CT Planning Limited, which Chris Lee claims is an offshore version of Lee Soo-man’s separate Korea-based consulting business, Like Planning.

SM Entertainment CEO Chris Lee (also known as Lee Sung-soo) has claimed the label’s founder Lee Soo-man is the reason why aespa’s new music has been delayed.On February 16, Lee, who is one of the K-pop agency’s two current CEOs, released a 30-minute statement regarding the company. In the video, which is the first part of a series, Lee made several allegations about SM’s former chief producer Lee Soo-man.According to Chris Lee’s video, Lee Soo-man was the reason why aespa’s music has been delayed.

HYBE, which is moving to become the largest shareholder in SM Entertainment, has reportedly said the latter label will be able to retain its independence.Last week, HYBE announced that it had struck a deal to buy 3.5million shares in SM Entertainment from its founder Lee Soo-man and therefore acquire a 14.8 per cent stake in the agency, which is one of K-pop’s longtime “Big Three” labels alongside JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment. The deal, once finalised on March 6, will make HYBE the largest shareholder in rival label SM.HYBE has also offered to purchase another 25 per cent of SM from minority shareholders.

EXCLUSIVE: Production is underway on Lee Soo Man: The King of K-Pop, a feature documentary from production company This Machine that will land on Prime Video.

Disney+ has shared a first look at its upcoming thriller K-drama series Revenge of Others starring Park Solomon (All Of Us Are Dead) and Shin Ye-eun (He Is Psychometric).On October 17, Disney+ Korea uploaded the first trailer for the upcoming thriller series on its official YouTube channel. Revenge of Others will premiere exclusively on the streaming platform on November 9.In the new clip, high school student Ok Chan-mi (Shin) mourns her twin brother after he falls to his death from a school building in an apparent suicide.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief SM Entertainment, one of the leading agency groups in Korean entertainment, said Friday that it will terminate a contract with Lee Soo-man, a year early, at the end of 2022. “SM Entertainment [..] will sever ties with its chief producer Lee Soo-man at the end of this year,” Yonhap news agency reported on Friday. Lee was one of the key figures in the early discovery of Korean pop talent in the mid-1990s, developing the agency system that has hatched numerous idol groups, and has remained one of the biggest executive names in the K-pop business. The four leading agencies are brand names in their own right, organize concerts for their stables of performers, and maintain a far more visible presence than music management firms in most other countries.

SM Entertainment is set to terminate its production contract with founder and chief producer Lee Soo-man at the end of the year.According to a report by Yonhap News Agency, SM Entertainment’s board of directors have decided to terminate their production contract with Like Planning, a music production company run by Lee, by December 31 – a year earlier than initially planned. SM Entertainment has been outsourcing music production to Like Planning for over 20 years.The early termination of Lee’s contract with the agency comes off the heels of investors from Align Partners Capital Management – which owns 1.1 per cent of SM Entertainment – claiming that the ties between both companies have been “damaging shareholder value” and demanding they sever ties with Like Planning in an open shareholder letter to the company in August.A separate report by Infostock Daily notes that Align Partners Capital Management cited the royalties that the agency paid to Like Planning have been undermining the value of shareholders.

Disney+ has announced the cast for its forthcoming K-drama Third Person Revenge (literal translation).On September 7, the streamer unveiled its full cast line-up for the upcoming original series Third Person Revenge via a statement to Daily Rian. Described as a “teen revenge thriller”, the plot unfolds when Ok Chan-mi – who is looking to uncover the truth behind the death of her twin brother – and Ji Su-heon, who begins exacting his revenge on behalf of bullying victims at school, are entangled through a shocking incident.Shin Ye-eun (Yumi’s Cells 2, Rookie Cops) will star in the new series as Chan-mi, while Park Solomon (All Of Us Are Dead) has been cast as Su-heon.

EXCLUSIVE: Well Go USA Entertainment has expanded its slate of Korean films, acquiring North American rights to titles including Alienoid, Hansan: Rising Dragon, Gangnam Zombie, The Ghost Station and The Assassin. While the international and indie distributor has set theatrical releases in place for Alienoid and Hansan, plans for the other three films have not yet been finalized. 

aespa have unveiled the second episode of their ongoing SM Culture Universe (SMCU) series on YouTube.In the new episode, titled Next Level, a strange ‘SYNK OUT’ phenomenon has occurred, causing ‘æ’s, or virtual counterparts to humans, to disappear from the Real World, forced to return to the FLAT — the virtual plane from which they originate.From the FLAT, aespa’s æ-counterparts are able to contact the members with the help of nævis, the AI system that allows virtual beings to appear in the Real World. Projecting their consciousness into their æ’s, the members enter the virtual plane, where nævis tasks them with venturing into KWANGYA, a “ruleless, formless” space that exists beyond the FLAT to find out what is causing the disconnect between the FLAT and Real World.In the rest of the episode, the girl group venture deeper into KWANGYA where they encounter the series’ villain, Black Mamba, for the first time, causing them to experience vivid hallucinations. The series first launched with the release of its first episode, Black Mamba, last year, with the aim to establish and expand the background of SM Entertainment’s company-wide lore, centred in and around KWANGYA.

Grid, has described the upcoming K-drama as a tale about protecting the Earth.During an online press conference held yesterday (February 16), Lee shared his vision for the series and what his intentions were for it regarding the show’s overarching message. The director also touched on why he signed up for the series, despite being unsure when initially approached.“It wasn’t easy to make up my mind to lead this series,” he said, per The Korea Times. “What struck me was the series’ theme, which is ‘we should protect our planet Earth.’ Until now, I have actually been questioning why there are no series or films in Korea that talk about saving Earth.

All Of Us Are Dead has helped South Korea set a new record on Netflix in the US.Based on the webtoon Now At Our School by Joo Dong-geun, the series follows a group of high school students who find themselves trapped on campus as a zombie apocalypse spreads like wildfire.After previously topping the charts on Netflix in over 25 countries by January 31, All Of Us Are Dead has now reached the summit of the daily Top 10 list on US Netflix (February 4). As the second non-English-language series to reach that position, the K-drama has helped set a new record for South Korea.Thanks to the success of Squid Game and All Of Us Are Dead, Korea is now the first country to place multiple series not in the English language at the top of the streaming service’s charts, according to Deadline.

Grid.The new teaser opens at a crime scene, with Kim Sae-ha (Seo Kang-joon of Are You Human?), detective Jang Sae-byuk (Kim Ah-joong of 200 Pounds Beauty) and a police squad chasing after what appears to be a Ghost.The trailer ends with Kim telling the supernatural entity (played by Lee Si-young), “You don’t know how I came all the way here”, as translated by Soompi. The Ghost, in turn, responds with: “Don’t get in the way.”In addition to the new teaser, Disney+ has also released a series of posters for the show.

Grid.Starring Seo Kang-joon (Are You Human?), Kim Ah-joong, Kim Mu-yul (Space Sweepers), Lee Si-young (Sweet Home) and more, Grid revolves around the police investigation of a supernatural entity (played by Lee) that surfaced in 1997 to save humankind. The entity re-emerges 24 years later, only to help a serial killer (Kim Sung-kyun) escape.“We are not looking for it, we’re making it come looking for us,” says Seo, who plays police officer Kim Sae-ha at the beginning of the clip.

SM Entertainment, has been named in the Pandora Papers.The Pandora Papers are a leak of almost 12million documents of financial data from around the world, published by the International Consortium Of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on 3 October, 2021.

Rebecca Souw A few months back Lee Soo-man appeared on stage at the 2021 World Cultural Industry Forum and boasted of his formative role in the Korean pop industry. “K-pop started with SM Entertainment,” he declared.