Where are singers and fans in SM's management dispute?

• Published date: 07 March 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

The battle for management control over K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment has entered a new phase after the company canceled a contract to issue new shares and convertible bonds to tech giant Kakao.

The deal could have made Kakao the second-largest shareholder of SM with a 9.05 percent stake, but it was rendered obsolete following a court ruling siding with SM founder Lee Soo-man, who filed an injunction against the pact last month. After terminating his contract with SM as chief producer, Lee sold his 14.8 percent stake to rival HYBE, home to K-pop titan BTS. HYBE is now the largest shareholder of SM, holding approximately 20 percent of the company's shares.

It remains to be seen whether HYBE will succeed in acquiring SM from the minority shareholders. However, according to experts, two key stakeholders are being overlooked in this long-standing dispute: K-pop singers and their fans.

"I wonder if people have ever discussed the ongoing row from the perspectives of singers, who led the beginning of all K-pop content, and their fans, who support them," Lee Dong-yeun, a professor of Korean traditional arts at the Korea National University of Arts, said during a debate titled "How to View the SM Entertainment Management Dispute?" at Seoul National University in southern Seoul, last Friday.

The event was co-hosted by Seoul National University Asia Center and activist group Cultural Action.

"It is true that many professional creators, management officials and shareholders have contributed to K-pop's global competitiveness and that artists and their fans are not the only factors to be considered in this ongoing discourse," the professor said. "But in my eyes, they have been alienated ... Fans may be able to run a movement as minority shareholders (after purchasing SM's shares) and speak for themselves in SM's upcoming shareholders meeting scheduled for March 31, or declare they will take collective actions to support their singers."

Echoing this sentiment, music critic Kim Do-heon pointed out that artists and fans have been used as shields in the current brawl.

Kakao launches tender offer to win controlling stake in SM Entertainment

Kakao launches tender offer to win controlling stake in SM Entertainment

2023-03-07 16:12 | Markets

Kakao announces tender offer to gain stable management control over SM

Kakao announces tender offer to gain stable management control over SM

2023-03-07 10:54 | Companies

HYBE-Kakao war over SM enters 2nd round

HYBE-Kakao war over SM enters 2nd round

...