The result of the lawsuit Lee Soo Man filed against his own agency SM Entertainment has been reached!
On March 3, its been revealed that the court accepted a provisional injunction filed by former SM Entertainment producer Lee Soo-man to block Kakao’s stock issuance and convertible bond offerings.
On this day, the 21st Civil Division (Judge Kim Yu-seong) of the Seoul Eastern District Court accepted the former general manager Lee’s request in the case of a provisional injunction filed against SM and ordered to ban the issuance of new stocks and convertible bonds by SM. The judge ruled the issuance of the said stokes and bonds puts the existing shareholders at a disadvantage, and even if Lee Soo Man has done harmful deeds towards the agency he’s found, SM management should initiate seperate legal action via a civil or a criminal lawsuit.
In an official statement, HYBE said, “As the largest shareholder of SM, we respect the court’s decision,” and added, “With a heavy sense of responsibility, we will continue to work hard so that SM can become a company that has an exemplary governance structure and prioritizes the rights and interests of shareholders, members, and artists.”
Lee Soo Man wrote a lengthy letter addressing what happened until now and why he’s decided to sell his shares to HYBE, he said, “To me, the best was HYBE.”
According to Lee, he had been preparing to sell his stake in SM for two years and wanted the current SM management to prepare for a “post-Lee Soo-man” era. During this process, several large domestic and foreign companies, including HYBE, expressed interest in SM. Lee also stated that he had long considered the idea that “entertainment is a world of creativity,” and that rather than passing SM on to his own family or relatives, he believed it should be handed over to the best in the industry who could help it thrive.
He bid farewell, thanking the artists he worked with and stating that SM was a challenge, happiness, and a blessing. He opened SM in 1989, producing numerous K-pop groups such as H.O.T., S.E.S., BoA, TVXQ, Girls’ Generation, SHINee, and EXO. He plans to move on to his next chapter, where technology and culture intersect.
Source: (A)
What are your thoughts on this?
I will wait for what happens next