1 Year and 4 Months Left on Domestic Activity Ban Agreement
Recruiting Idols and Holding Auditions Overseas
Lee Soo-man (72), former Chief Producer of SM Entertainment, known as the "Father of K-pop," is returning to the industry through the newly established entertainment company A2O Entertainment.
On the afternoon of the 25th, A2O Entertainment posted an introduction video of "Rookies" (pre-debut trainees) on social media channels such as YouTube and Weibo. At the end of the video, the phrase "Produced by S.M. Lee" appears, clearly signaling Lee Soo-man's comeback. This marks his first direct production effort in 1 year and 7 months since the SM acquisition battle in March last year.
The video featured several new talents named "Rookies." Team names presumed to be "Rookies LTB" and "Rookies HTG" were also mentioned. This suggests that A2O may be launching multiple teams simultaneously rather than just one new artist or group. The video description used the term "Zalpha-Pop" instead of K-pop, which is interpreted as targeting the global "Zalpha generation" (Gen Z + Alpha generation) rather than limiting to the domestic market.
Earlier this year, through Blooming Grace, Lee Soo-man filed a trademark including entertainment and amusement business under the name "A2O Entertainment." Around the same time, a recruitment announcement for "A2O Entertainment Idol Trainees" was posted on social media in Japan. Blooming Grace confirmed, "It is true that trainee auditions were held in China and Japan," but added, "However, the exact schedule for activities has not yet been decided." The non-compete agreement, which prevented him from producing albums domestically for three years after selling his shares to HYBE in February last year, still has about 1 year and 4 months remaining until its expiration.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
