Former executive producer Lee Soo Man, SM Entertainment (SM)’s founder, unveiled a keynote speech scheduled to be released today (Feb 14th) amid the SM management right dispute. It was not a position regarding SM, but about starting a campaign to save the Earth in Mongolia.
In the keynote speech, Lee Soo Man said, “I will take the lead in saving the Earth for humanism and sustainability through K-POP and Hallyu. In 2023, a music festival and campaign to plant trees and save the Earth will begin in Mongolia.”
He explained that last year, at the invitation of Mongolia, Dubai and Saudi Arabia, he met leaders from various countries and proposed visions for a future cultural city. At the same time, he emphasized the fact that he signed an MOU with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia to promote the project “Creating a smart entertainment city and Developing tourism in Mongolia”.
Lee Soo Man said, “Starting with Mongolia, I want to make it possible for anyone to happily participate in the campaign to plant trees in desert areas. I hope that the music festival and campaign to plant trees and save the Earth will be launched in Mongolia in 2023. If so, K-POP fans and young people from all over the world will participate.”
Lee Soo Man said he would launch the first “tree planting project” in Mongolia as a new culture technology project to make “a sustainable festival city and music city where environmentally-friendly concerts and festivals take place all year round”, “a city where K-pop, Hallyu fans and young people around the world can participate in developing and creating ideas on virtual metaverse and physical metaverse”, “a city where drones and mobility are materialized based on eco-friendly energy and artists, as well as citizens all over the world, can participate in tree planting”, etc.
He continued, “Mongolia, which combines entertainment and sustainability, will become the trigger for the solution of global climate, environment, and ecological crises”, adding “I hope Mongolia and South Korea will be partners in realizing the sustainability of the Earth, building a new living and cultural ecosystem, as well as a future city that can save the Earth”.
Meanwhile, SM announced its new “SM 3.0” system on Feb 3rd and a strategic partnership with Kakao on Feb 7th. Kakao reportedly secured 9.05% stakes and became the second-largest shareholder in SM.
Lee Soo Man, the former major shareholder whose stakes were decreasing, hurriedly returned to Korea and filed an injunction against SM on Feb 8th. He then handed over 14.8% of his 13/46% shares in SM to HYBE for 422.8 billion won on Feb 10th, making HYBE surpass Kakao to become the largest shareholder in SM.
HYBE announced that they would eliminate SM’s cost burden by excluding Lee Soo Man’s royalties earned from mutual agreements, and denied rumors of Lee Soo Man’s management and production rights. HYBE also plans to acquire shares of minor shareholders.
Source: nate
