SM Artists Minimize Mentioning Agency During Acceptance Speeches Due To Recent Controversy
Amidst the recent controversy with SM Entertainment, SM artists have excluded mentioning Lee Soo Man in their acceptance speeches at the Circle Chart Music Awards 2022. This ceremony, hosted by NCT’s Doyoung and (G)I-DLE’s Miyeon, was held at the KSPO Dome in Seoul.
NCT received the Singer of the Year award in the physical album category for the first quarter. Doyoung, who attended on behalf of the members, stated, “We were able to receive such a big award thanks to the hyungs and noonas that have worked with us together for a long time,” and thanked the company staff. He added, “We plan to work hard without being shaken by anything as long as there are hyungs and noonas who work hard together with our fans.”
Aespa, who won the Artist of the Year award in the digital music category for July, Karina stated, “No matter what activities we do in the future, we will come back with a great album.” Winter added, “We will come back with a good song this year, so please look forward to it.”
It seemed like SM artists were conscious of the conflict between SM and Lee Soo Man, and have tried to minimize any mention of it. Previously, SM artists have expressed their feelings of discomfort about the Lee Soo Man controversy.
Meanwhile, SM’s current executives and former executive producer Lee Soo Man are experiencing conflict.
SM’s co-CEO Lee Sung Soo emphasized that the sustainability movement campaign that Lee Soo Man has been insisting on includes his desire for real estate business rights, even mentioning the legalization of casinos and hemp. This campaign also included content related to planting trees and caused a delay to aespa’s comeback, shocking many.
Then, as SM handed over a 9.05% stake to Kakao, Lee Soo Man filed a lawsuit against the court for a provisional injunction, saying that issuing new shares or convertible bonds to a third party during a dispute over management rights was an illegal act. In addition, Lee Soo Man transferred 14.8% stake to HYBE, making them the highest shareholder in SM.
