These stars are both actors and CEOs.
These days, there are many agencies with CEOs being their actors, such as actors Jung Woo-sung and Lee Jung-jae, who have established an agency based on the trust they have accumulated over the years and are currently recruiting and taking care of their actors. Let’s take a look at these actors/CEOs.
Keyeast’s Bae Yong-joon
Bae Yong-joon, who received great love not only in Korea but also in Japan for the drama “Winter Sonata,” established Keyeast with an investment of 9 billion won and made it the best actor management company. In 2018, he sold it to SM Entertainment for 50 billion won and became the third-largest shareholder of SM Entertainment.
The actors of the agency include his wife Park Soo-jin, Kim Seo-hyung, Yoo Hae-jin, Bae Jung-nam, Lee Dong-hwi, Jung Eun-chae, and Jo Bo-ah. In addition to the management business, the company also produced dramas such as “The School Nurse Files,” “Hyena,” and “Inspector Koo.” When will we be able to see actor Bae Yong-joon as an actor on the small screen again?
Artist Company’s Jung Woo-sung and Lee Jung-jae
Artist Company was founded in 2016 by Jung Woo-sung and Lee Jung-jae, friends of 20 years, after much consideration. Including these two actors, Ahn Sung-ki, Yeom Jeong-ah, and Park So-dam, as well as Cho Yi-hyun, who has recently been loved for her appearance in the drama “All Of Us Are Dead,” are also artists under Artist Company.
Following Netflix’s “Sea of Silence,” Lee Jung-jae‘s film “Hunt” is also being produced by Artist Company. As the company sold its management rights to Wysiwyg Studio, a subsidiary of game company Com2uS, for 105 billion won in December last year.
BH Entertainment’s Lee Byung-hun
Founded in 2006 by Lee Byung-hun with his dedicated manager, the company boasts a huge number of actors and actresses, including Gosoo, Kim Go-eun, Park Bo-young, Yoo Ji-tae, Han Ji-min, Han Hyo-joo, and Han Ga-in. In 2019, Kakao M bought all of its shares and the company became a perfect subsidiary of Kakao.
Since the beginning of the year, BH actors and actresses have been showing off their talents in dramas such as “Bulgasal,” movies “The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure,” and Netflix’s “All Of Us Are Dead.” This year, you will be able to meet the BH family in various works.
SEM Company’s Hwang Jung-min
SEM Company is an entertainment group established in 2010 by Hwang Jung-min and his wife, Kim Mi-hye. Hwang Jung-min, Ryu Seung-beom, and Park Jung-min belong to this agency. Jung Sang-hoon and Kang Ha-neul also belonged to SEM Company before they became independent.
SEM Company has produced various musicals and plays, such as the musical “Broadway 42nd Street, City of Angel” and the plays “Richard III,” “Romeo and Juliet.” In August this year, it will produce the musical “Mrs. Doubtfire.”
51K’s So Ji-seob
So Ji-seop founded 51K in 2009. It is not just a domestic entertainment agency. The company has reportedly invested in foreign works that are difficult to see in Korea at their own expense, and are interviewing to recruit more employees. Recently, idols-turned-actors Ok Taek-yeon and Cha Hak-yeon were also recruited into this agency.
