After declaring the start of the "SM 3.0" era amid the resignation of Lee Soo Man, a leaked email and post exposed the seemingly worsening "infighting" between the founder, CEOs, artists, and staff.
What happened?
Kim Min Jong Reveals Unilateral Resignation of Lee Soo Man As Executive Producer in Leaked Email
In a report by media outlet JoongAng Ilbo, it stated that the aftermath of SM Entertainment's founder Lee Soo Man's (hereinafter LSM) resignation as executive producer is getting worse.
Lee Soo Man had been in charge of SM's production for 27 years before he officially resigned in February 2023.
At the time, it was confirmed by current CEOs Lee Sung Soo and Tak Young Joon, saying:
"Lee Soo Man's contract with SM Entertainment as an executive producer has concluded. We sincerely thank teacher Lee Soo Man who will continue to support the company as a shareholder."
On the same day, the CEOs also introduced the beginning of the SM 3.0 era, a system that will drift away from LSM's production system.
However, since then, infighting between SM executives and staff arose, exposing the bad blood between the founder and CEOs.
Singer-actor Kim Min Jong particularly sent an email to all of SM staff on Feb. 5, where he protested against the news that LSM will be excluded from production.
In a leaked email, he exposed that the CEOs weren't on Lee's side, explaining:
"They have cut off all contact with teacher (Lee Soo Man) without giving him the chance to bid his goodbyes and unilaterally announced the resignation without discussions with him."
Kim then acknowledged that SM Entertainment and its artist activities won't be complete without the founder's unique sense and capabilities.
Kim Min Jong is a singer and actor under SM who also served as an external director of SM C&C, a subsidiary of SM.
He is known to be close to Lee Soo Man.
Internal Staff Supports 'SM Without Lee Soo Man': 'We need to escape from the glory of the past'
On February 6, Kim Min Jong received criticism for his leaked email and a lot of SM internal staff criticized him for supporting Lee Soo Man.
In the anonymous community blind of office workers, many SM employees expressed their position that they could not agree with Kim Min Jong's claim that goes against the times.
In particular, the insider agreed with the continuation of SM's new era without Lee Soo Man and wrote:
"We're a company with a trillion unit market cap. However, once we entered the fourth-gen era, I feel that our management isn't sophisticated in terms of song, concept, and marketing.
We will most likely fall behind in the music industry if we won't make any significant changes. We need to escape from the glory of the past and stay alert!"
What are your thoughts on this?
READ MORE: What Is 'SM 3.0' Era? Agency To Debut 4 Artists, Release 41 Albums, More Details
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Written by Eunice Dawson.
