Fantagio Appoints Park Jong-jin and Shin Young-jin as Co-CEOs... "Strengthening Album Production"

NK Mulsan with Drama Production Capabilities
Strengthening Music, Production, and Management Based on Financial Power

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Fantagio has appointed a new management team. The new management plans to strengthen album production and management business based on financial resources.

According to industry sources on the 15th, Fantagio held an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders at 11 a.m. that day and newly appointed five inside directors including Park Jongjin, Shin Youngjin, Kim Cheolmin, Yoon Seyul, and Namgung Jeong, two outside directors Cho Junbae and Lee Gyeyeon, and auditor Shin Mingyu. Along with this, Fantagio dismissed all existing board members. The management team was completely replaced.

The newly appointed directors are personnel working at studios such as Studio Invictus, UFO Production, and Onnuri Media, which operate drama production and entertainment businesses. Going forward, Fantagio plans to operate under a dual CEO system with Park Jongjin and Shin Youngjin. CEO Park Jongjin will oversee overall management, while CEO Shin Youngjin will be in charge of production and related areas.

Previously, GNC Partners, the former management rights holder of Fantagio, signed a contract on the 10th to transfer shares and management rights to Artist Cosmetic. The contract involves Artist Cosmetic acquiring 5 million shares (6.88%) and management rights for 10.6 billion KRW.

The largest shareholders of Artist Cosmetic are NK Mulsan (49.72%) and Mirae ING (49.72%). The owner of NK Mulsan is Chairman Namgung Gyeon. Chairman Namgung is known as an M&A expert who secured financial power by acquiring multiple companies and reselling them at high prices.

Chairman Namgung has recently been focusing his capabilities on drama production investment. The studios where the newly appointed directors of Fantagio work?Studio Invictus, UFO Production, and Onnuri Media?are also companies owned by Chairman Namgung.

Studio Invictus is a drama content production company jointly established by KBS, the Korea Development Bank, and KOBACO, which Chairman Namgung recently acquired. NK Mulsan has also produced dramas such as "Today's Detective," "Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul-ho 2: Crime and Punishment," "Doctor Prisoner," and "Beautiful World" since 2018.

In the future, Artist Cosmetic plans to execute a paid-in capital increase of approximately 5 billion KRW in Fantagio. Additionally, the ongoing plan to issue convertible bonds (CB) worth 20 billion KRW will proceed without disruption. Furthermore, they plan to purchase shares of LNA Holdings, the nominal largest shareholder.

An NK Mulsan official stated, "With this acquisition of Fantagio, we plan to strengthen album production and management business and create synergy in the drama production sector. Based on solid financial power, we will stand out in the entertainment market."