The most well-known accomplishment of Lee Soo-man, a South Korean entrepreneur, music executive, and record producer, is founding SM Entertainment, a global South Korean entertainment conglomerate with headquarters in Seoul.
As the father of the Korean Wave, he has often been referred to as the “president of culture.” In 1971, when Lee was still a student at Seoul National University, he made his singing debut. In 1989, he created SM Entertainment, which has grown to be one of South Korea’s biggest entertainment businesses.
Summary
| Name | Lee Soo-man |
| Net Worth | $200 million |
| Occupation | Businessman, Music executive, Record producer |
| Age | 70 years |
| Height | 1.71m |
Lee Soo-man, now 70 years old, was born in Jeonju, South Korea, on June 18, 1952. He is the son of Kim Gyeong-hyeon and Lee Hee-jae. Between 1971 and 1979, Lee attended Seoul National University intermittently. Lee made his musical debut in 1972 with April and May (he had joined the group in 1971), although he subsequently left the group for medical reasons.
Soo-man rose to prominence due to his reputation as a “nice guy,” which was bolstered by the fact that he was one of the select few who avoided being embroiled in the cannabis crisis involving Korean celebrities in 1975 and his stellar academic standing at Seoul National University. He rose to fame because to the success of songs like “Happiness,” published in 1978, and “A Piece of Dream,” released in 1976. He was a part of the South Korean indie group Sand Pebbles in 1977. He worked as a radio DJ and TV personality at this period in addition to his profession as a musician and his academic studies.
Lee Soo-man was also well-known for the Masamtrio (), a group he formed with the vocalists Lee Moon-sae and Yoo Yeol. They were given this moniker because they resemble the long faces of horses. He founded the band “365” in 1980. (Lee Soo-man and The 365 Days). He was discouraged from pursuing a career in the Korean music business, meanwhile, by the administration of Chun Doo-policy hwan’s about media restriction.
Lee made the decision to quit the entertainment industry at the beginning of the 1980s in order to pursue a career in computer engineering. He traveled overseas to complete his master’s degree at California State University, Northridge, where he saw “superstars of the MTV age” like Michael Jackson rise to fame. Lee set out to create the framework for the current Korean pop music business, drawing inspiration from the American MTV boom. With “a vision of what the Korean music business may be,” he returned to Korea in 1985.
Following his return to Korea, Lee Soo-man reentered the entertainment industry by working as a DJ and presenter. In the Seoul area of Apgujeong, he founded an entertainment firm called SM Studio (named after his initials) in 1989 and signed vocalist Hyun Jin-young. He had been accumulating money and building expertise in the business for four years. The 1990s saw SM Studio create an internal system to manage every facet of its artists’ careers.
Lee’s strategy was geared on young audiences and takes a comprehensive approach to the skills required to succeed as an entertainer. In 1995, the business adopted the moniker SM Entertainment. Lee left his seat on the SM board of directors in February 2010, although he continued to work in the divisions responsible for “management and artist development.”
Lee Soo-man was ranked by Billboard on January 23, 2020, as one of the most important figures in the global music business. It was disclosed on 5 February 2020 by Jeff Benjamin, writing for Forbes, that Lee Soo-man collaborated on the EP for the South Korean girl group Loona, his first-ever endeavor outside of eponymous SM Entertainment.
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office of the Republic of Korea discovered evidence that Lee purchased 1.1 billion worth of stocks in August 1999 when SM Entertainment’s shares were listed on the KOSDAQ via a paid-in capital increase, resulting in illicit market gains of 10 billion in 2002. The Republic of Korea’s Supreme Prosecutor’s Office also looked into allegations that Lee had lobbied producers at television stations and kept a sizable sum of money in his personal office and vaults.
Lee Soo-man attempted to avoid prosecution by relocating abroad starting in June 2002, but on August 2, 2002, he was discovered on a golf course in Los Angeles. While fleeing, Lee had his passport revoked and was being sought by Interpol. On May 22, 2003, Lee returned to Korea for an investigation. On October 7, 2003, a pre-arrest warrant was submitted, and on August 8, Lee was taken into custody.
After paying 30 million won, Lee’s request for bail was granted on October 14, 2003. Lee was tried on October 19th without being imprisoned. The Supreme Court of Korea condemned two years in jail and three years of probation in September 2004. In 2007, to mark the completion of Roh Moo-fourth hyun’s year in office, Lee Soo-man was granted a special exemption and freed.
Three members of the boy band TVXQ sued their management company, SM Entertainment, headed by Lee Soo-man in 2009, arguing that the agency’s 13-year contract, sometimes known as a “slave contract,” was too lengthy, too onerous, and provided them almost no share of the band’s success-related revenues. The Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) of South Korea established a law limiting entertainment contracts to seven years the following year, in 2010. The names of individuals in the Pandora Papers included Lee Soo-man.
In 1984, Lee Soo-man and Kim Eun-jin were united in marriage. He lost his wife to cancer on September 30, 2014. He is also Sunny’s paternal uncle and a member of the well-known SM group Girls’ Generation. In order to assist individuals impacted by the enormous wildfires that originated in Uljin, Gyeongbuk, and also spread to Samcheok, Gangwon, Lee gave 500 million to the Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association on March 8, 2022. Although Lee Soo-man has just one son, Lee Hyeon-gyu, as of mid-2022, she hasn’t remarried.
Lee Soo-man is valued at how much? An estimate of Lee Soo-net man’s worth puts it at around $200 million. His work as a businessman, music executive, and record producer is his primary source of income. With additional professional earnings, Lee Soo-man makes more than $30 million a year in income. His lucrative job has allowed him to enjoy opulent lives and expensive travel. He is one of South Korea’s wealthiest and most powerful music industry figures. Lee Soo-man has a healthy body weight that fits his personality and a pleasing height of 1.71 meters.