"Lee Soo-man Emphasizes Again: No Involvement in SM Management"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] "We respect SM's legacy. We will guarantee SM's independence. HYBE has already proven a multi-label system."
Park Ji-won, CEO of HYBE, who is leading the acquisition of SM Entertainment, stated that while guaranteeing SM's independence, there will be no return to management by former chief producer Lee Soo-man.
According to the music industry on the 14th, Park held a briefing session for all employees at HYBE's headquarters in Yongsan, Seoul, the day before, explaining the progress and purpose of the merger and acquisition (M&A).
Earlier, HYBE announced on the 10th through a public disclosure that it had signed a contract to acquire 14.80% out of the 18.47% SM shares held by Lee Soo-man, the founder and largest shareholder of SM, at 120,000 KRW per share, totaling 422.8 billion KRW.
The briefing was organized to explain the progress of the M&A to employees who had only heard about the news through media reports, coinciding with the completion of the biggest 'big deal' in the music industry, and to share accurate information.
On that day, CEO Park said, "SM has its own unique value. We will continue to preserve that color, and HYBE will support them to expand further."
Regarding the whereabouts of former chief producer Lee Soo-man, CEO Park emphasized, "There will be no management or producing participation by Lee Soo-man. He will no longer receive royalties."
Additionally, he mentioned the main pillars of the K-pop industry?fans, artists (signed singers), employees of both companies, and the K-pop industry?one by one, predicting that "(this M&A) will allow all to enjoy synergy effects."
However, despite this statement, voices of anxiety still persist within SM.
On the previous day, Cho Byung-kyu, SM Vice President and in-house lawyer affiliated with Lee Soo-man, sent an email to all employees stating, "The party attempting a hostile M&A is not HYBE but Kakao," and pointed out, "HYBE is conducting a friendly M&A, and the party trying to increase shares against the will of the major shareholder (Lee Soo-man) is Kakao, aligned with the current management teamed up with Kakao."
This is the first time CEO Park has spoken publicly regarding the SM acquisition. It is interpreted as an attempt to explain the background of this acquisition within HYBE while soothing SM insiders who fear losing their unique identity.
SM employees are posting various opinions on the anonymous workplace application Blind. One employee posted, "Even without the clues of Kakao or HYBE, we are a company that can succeed, so it is very unfortunate," and expressed the opinion, "I wish there was just 'Lee Sung-soo & Tak Young-joon (co-CEOs) and SM employees' as 'Option 3'."
In a poll post asking to choose between 'current management + Kakao' and 'Lee Soo-man + HYBE,' opposition to the HYBE acquisition was overwhelmingly high, indicating internal resistance.
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