Former SM Entertainment CEOs Nam Soyoung & Kim Youngmin Replaced As Company Shifts Priorities

The new CEOs have been working on SM artists’ albums for over a decade.

On March 10, in the year of SM Entertainment’s 25th anniversary, the company’s board of directors has announced that Nam Soyoung and Kim Youngmin are no longer serving as co-CEOs.

The new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is Lee Sungsoo, who’s been working at SM Entertainment for 15 years. Since 2015, he’s been responsible for music production at the company. Lee Sungsoo is credited for spearheading the development and globalization of SM Entertainment’s music as well as its content production.

Tak Youngjun, the Chief Marketing Officer (CEO), will act as co-director to Lee Sungsoo. Tak Youngjun has been working at SM Entertainment for 19 years. For the past 5 years, he led the artist management division of the company, overseeing the management and marketing of the company’s stars.

The former CEOs, Nam Soyoung and Kim Youngmin, will now be performing other duties at the company. The move comes as part of the company’s growing commitments to becoming a global presence, innovating music production, and strengthening management.

The company’s original CEO, Lee Sooman, stepped down from the board of directors in 2010, moving to a management and artist development role at the company.