OG SM Entertainment Producer Yoo Young Jin Declares He Will Not Stay With The Company Without Lee Soo Man
Amidst the ongoing battle between SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo Man and his former company, longtime SM Entertainment producer Yoo Young Jin has spoken up in support of Lee Soo Man. Yoo Young Jin is known as “the father of K-Pop” to many, while Kenzie is known as “the mother.” They have penned many hits under SM Entertainment. Yoo Young Jin himself wrote hit songs such as “Genie,” “Black Mamba,” “Sorry Sorry,” “Lucifer,” and “Bad Boy.”
He declared that he would not stay at the company without Lee Soo Man. As everyone knows by now, Lee Soo Man stepped down as the CEO, while the company’s management was taken over by new CEOs Chris Lee and Tak Young Jun.
As a musician who has been with SM Entertainment for a long time, I will be speaking about the current situation from my POV.
Regarding the presentation by the current management about SM ver3.0 on February 3, it is hard for me to agree with the parts that exclude Lee Soo Man from producing. In addition, I wish to express my displeasure about the fact that the most important role of a producer is not present in content creation. They used the term “multi-producing” in the presentation, but the contents were, in fact, about a multi-creation system.
After the presentation about the vision, I asked if the current management had discussed the producing matters with Lee Soo Man, and confirmed that no such thing had occurred. In addition, although Lee Soo Man’s contract with the company ended last year, he has never mentioned a retirement from producing.
They presented the plans for SM ver3.0 one-sidedly without any discussion with Lee Soo Man, and it was very shocking how they publicly bid a goodbye to Lee Soo Man.
Multi-producing system is something that Lee Soo Man has been preparing in advance for the SM without him, and it is basically a know-how manual on producing such that the company can run without issues.
Lee Soo Man has a clear understanding of the flow of culture and technology, and I think that he is the only producer that can withstand the changes [in time] and understand how music will be consumed on future platforms. He’s long been talking about a world that will come with robots and celebrities, and he has long been telling us to prepare for things like avatars, the metaverse, and the NFT world.
How SM Entertainment was able to lead K-Pop in the past and present, as well show SM Entertainment was able to prepare for the changes in K-Pop over the past few years, should be hugely credited to Lee Soo Man’s foresight.
SM Entertainment will not truly be SM Entertainment without the production by Lee Soo Man. I, Yoo Young Jin, stand by Lee Soo Man’s convictions. I also have conveyed my stand to CEO Chris Lee that I will not be able to be with the company if the current situation continues.
Thank you.
February 10, 2023.
SM Entertainment Director, Yoo Young Jin
— Yoo Young Jin
Over the past few days, the industry has been in an uproar given the unilateral presentation by the new CEOs that excludes the company’s founder. Lee Soo Man retaliated with a lawsuit. Read more about it below.
Lee Soo Man Is Going To Sue SM Entertainment For Illegal Business
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