SM Entertainment Badly Misses Lee Soo Man’s Expertise, According To Korean Netizens 

Is SM Entertainment experiencing a creative drought without its visionary founder? Are they missing Lee Soo Man‘s “magic touch”? According to some Korean netizens, the answer might be a resounding “yes.”

A viral Pann post that’s captured over 65,000 views (and sparked countless debates) suggests that the unique sparkle Lee Soo Man brought to SM’s artist concepts is noticeably missing from recent debuts.

Remember when EXO appeared with their supernatural concept? Or when NCT introduced its expanding member system? And how aespa arrived with their virtual world concept? Netizens mentioned that these bold creative choices initially received mixed reactions but eventually contributed to these groups’ success.

In contrast, newer groups like RIIZE seem to be taking a safer approach, leaving fans wondering if current leadership has lost that innovative spirit.

I really miss Lee Soo Man.

There’s a long-vacant spot for pure/dreamy concept groups + members/songs above average quality + SM debut. I think HYBE’s TWS will succeed moderately well But they lack that unique first impression characteristic of SM groups. EXO, NCT, aespa all made big impacts with their debuts, whether in a good or bad way.

— Pann post

Long-time followers point to SM’s history of turning initial confusion into artistic vision that everyone wants to follow. However — while the vast majority of netizens admits that SM does indeed miss Lee and his vision — not everyone agrees with this nostalgic view.

• “Is it that Lee Sung Soo has a similar vision or is he just lacking imagination? RIIZE and TWS both have no distinctive color, and even their concepts feel like copies.”
• “I think the same. If it were Lee Soo Man, he would have taken things in a different direction.”
• “For real lol. EXO’s superpowers concept was criticized for being cringey but ‘Growl’ was a mega-hit. Red Velvet – Irene was a huge success. NCT – ‘What’s with this infinite expansion concept?’ – somehow succeeded as a fandom-based idol group aespa – ‘What’s with these ae-members?’ – ‘Next Level’ was a mega-hit. Love them or hate them, they all created a huge buzz when they debuted.”
• “Don’t miss him. He’d probably be making tree-planting songs. And I bet the people writing posts like this would have criticized Lee Soo Man’s unusual concepts too if he was still around.”
• “I wonder what SM would be like today if Lee Soo Man was still there.”

What do you think? Is SM’s creative direction changing, or is this just another phase in the company’s evolution?