Lee Soo: Last News

SM Entertainment stock prices.Today (July 17), Korea Bizwire reported that the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office has formally filed for an arrest warrant for Kakao founder Kim Beom-su. It comes a week after police questioned Kim over his alleged involvement in manipulation of SM Entertainment shares.

SM Entertainment‘s latest girl group Hearts2Hearts have released a music video for B-side track ‘Butterflies’.On March 8, Hearts2Hearts and SM Entertainment dropped the new visual for ‘Butterflies’, marking their second music video since they first made their debut with ‘The Chase’ late last month. ‘Butterflies’ is also the only B-side to accompany their debut track when it was first released as a single album.The ‘Butterflies’ music video is formatted like a silent film and features the eight members of Hearts2Hearts as high school students preparing for what appears to be a school fair.“In an unfamiliar scene / The excitement I felt for the first time / And the voice that led me, oh / Somehow the eyes that seemed familiar / And the moment we met (Oh) / You and I, you and I, reaching a distant dream,” they harmonise on the R&B track’s chorus.Hearts2Hearts are comprised of Jiwoo, Carmen, Yuha, Stella, Juun, A-na, Ian and Ye-on.

South Korea’s Redice Entertainment, creator of hit webtoon “Solo Leveling,” has entered into the international film sales business, launching a slate at the upcoming European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief South Korean prosecutors said that they had arrested Kim Beom-su, the billionaire founder of tech giant Kakao, over alleged stock price manipulation. The case relates to the company’s takeover of K-pop agency SM Entertainment last year. “Kim faces allegations that he orchestrated and approved schemes to collaborate with the operator of a private equity fund to deliberately inflate the stock price of SM Entertainment to prevent Hybe Corp.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A year after winning a bitter corporate battle for control of pioneering K-pop agency SM Entertainment, South Korean tech firm Kakao Entertainment says it is accelerating its expansion in music. Kakao already has a controlling stake in Melon, Korea’s leading subscription-based music streamer. It defeated BTS-backer Hybe Corp.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Nikki Semin Han’s U.S.-based Korean entertainment venture Titan Content has unveiled the first to members of its debut K-pop girl group AtHeart. Titan plans to debut two K-pop girl groups, two boy groups, one male soloist, and one female soloist by 2028. The first of these, AtHeart is set to officially launch in 20225 and will include an unspecified number of additional performers. The first two members of AtHeart, Sorin and Michi are both 17-years-old and hail from South Korea and Hawaii respectively. “Titan has been scouting and holding global auditions since the beginning of 2024, and we were captivated by the incredible talent we discovered.

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.

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.

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.