K-pop mogul Lee Soo-man, the SM Entertainment founder who left the company last year, may be returning to the K-pop scene.
Lee’s environmental, social and corporate governance management consulting company, Blooming Grace, filed a trademark application for A20 Entertainment on May 3, according to Korean Intellectual Property Office records. The trademark for A20 Entertainment falls under the category including businesses for entertainment, video game devices, advertising and more. The trademark application is pending review.
In July last year, Blooming Grace posted an online announcement on social media for recruiting K-pop trainees for A20 Entertainment in Japan. The company reportedly confirmed having held auditions in China and Japan to discover new talent but did not say when or if they will debut.
In signing a contract with Hybe to sell his 14.8 percent stake in SM Entertainment last year, Lee agreed not to participate in any domestic entertainment business for the next three years. But the ban is limited to Korea and does not prohibit him from pursuing entertainment business abroad. A20 Entertainment trainees trained in Japan and China can debut in their home countries or in any part of the world except Korea – and this restriction is applicable only within the prohibition period.
Lee is said to have requested Hybe to delete a clause in the contract that bans him from the local entertainment business last year, but it is unknown if Hybe agreed to it. There are speculations that Hybe might have okayed the removal of the ban as Lee's domestic business might weaken the competitiveness of its main rival, SM Entertainment.
Last month, Lee also made his first public appearance in a year at the General Assembly of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) in Seoul to deliver a keynote speech about the future of K-pop and synergy with artificial intelligence (AI).
Asked about his possible return to the K-pop scene, Lee neither confirmed nor denied it.
“We will see. As I have always done, I am moving toward the future,” Lee said at the CISAC event, on May 30.
At the event, Lee delivered a speech about how AI and blockchain technology will reshape the business structure of the global music industry. He urged the music industry worldwide to adapt quickly to the new world of AI.
“Lee will return to the K-pop scene soon. The entertainment business is what he has been doing his whole life. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be making public appearances to give a speech about the future of K-pop,” a local entertainment industry official said Thursday.
