SM Entertainment Staff Members Express Support For Current CEOs Lee Sung Soo And Tak Young Jun Through A Collective Statement
With the ongoing feud between founder Lee Soo Man, and current SM Entertainment CEOs Lee Sung Soo and Tak Young Jun, the company’s staff have been thrown into chaos and confusion about the future of their company. While new shareholder HYBE has already expressed a desire to retain SM Entertainment’s current history and legacy, it seems like the current SM Entertainment workers are not so quick to be appeased.
On February 17, 2023, a new statement was released. The collective statement represents a total of 208 regular staff members with positions below that of unit leader. The staff expressed their support for current CEOs, Lee Sung Soo and Tak Young Jun.
As former head producer Lee Soo Man’s illegal and tax evasion activities were on the verge of being revealed, he sold his shares to a competitor and ran away. The members of SM Entertainment have been used thoroughly by Lee Soo Man for his illegal activities including private interests and tax evasion. We cannot let ourselves be used again again for HYBE’s illegal activities and expediency once more, before SM 3.0 is even launched.
As us 208 of SM Entertainment’s regular staff are angry at the illegal collusion between HYBE and Lee Soo Man, our announcement will be in the statement will be as forth.
1. We will be protecting K-Pop’s culture variety and SM’s unique identity. We cannot let SM’s culture be subordinate to HYBE’s capitalism.
2. We send our avid support to co-CEOs Lee Sung Soo and Tak Young Jun and the SM 3.0 multi-producing plans that they have. In addition, we request for even stronger protection such at fans and artists are not harmed.
3. We are against the hostile M&A of HYBE and their expedient attempts to enter the [shareholders’ and directors’] board. They have been trying to occupy SM through abnormal means, which we will be resisting.
Lee Soo Man may have run away after abandoning SM and Pink Blood, but we will stay in Seoul Forest and protect SM and Pink Blood.
February 17, 2023
From the collective of SM Entertainment’s regular staff
— Staff collective
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