Lee Soo-man
Lee Soo-man (born 18 June 1952) is a South Korean music mogul, musician, and record producer. He is the founding chairman of S.M. Entertainment, specializing in K-pop groups. S.M. Entertainment is one of the Korean entertainment industry leaders and Lee Soo-man's stock holdings currently amount to 200.1 billion KRW (approximately US$188.9 million) as of the year 2013 making him the second wealthiest celebrity stockholder.
Lee started his career as a singer while attending Seoul National University in 1972. He co-founded the agency in 1989, which is now one of the largest record labels in South Korea.
Biography
1952–1972: Early years
Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea on 18 June 1952, and entered Seoul National University. He began singing in a coffee house in 1971.
1972–1980: Singer years
Lee debuted as a member of the defunct folk music duo April and May (4월과 5월) in 1972, and by 1976, with hits like "Happiness", and "One piece of Dream", his career began to take off. The following year, he received the MBC TOP 10 Singer award. Besides singing, he became a successful TV host during that time.
1980–1985: Studying in US
He formed the band 이수만과 365일 (Lee Soo Man and 365 days) in 1980, which became the first heavy metal band formed in the Korean music industry. But, at the same time, the new Chun Doo-hwan government began its policy of censoring the media. As a result, Lee saw no real future in Korean entertainment. The next year, 1981, he went back to pursuing his original dream of being a top engineer and moved to California to attend California State University, Northridge and to continue work on his master's degree. His primary research area was in the field of robotics. However, Lee witnessed the revolution of US entertainment at that time, and felt there was huge commercial potential in that industry in Korea.
1985–present: Music producer[edit]
1985, just after earning his master's degree, Lee returned to Korea to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. His return was a success in a variety of areas, such as singing, hosting TV shows, and hosting radio programs. Moreover, he was also working as a part-time DJ and managing a restaurant.
In 1989, starting with 200,000,000 won for initial capital, he founded SM Entertainment. In 1995, SM Entertainment became a publicly traded company. After producing H.O.T. in 1996, many others followed, and SM became the biggest entertainment company in South Korea. In February 2010, Lee resigned from his position as a member of the board of directors.
Personal life
Lee Soo-man's wife, Kim Eun Jin, died due to cancer on 30 September 2014.
Discography
As a member of April and May[edit]
4월과 5월 1집 (APRIL AND MAY: The 1st Album), 1972
Solo
Lee Soo-man, 1977
Lee Soo-man, 1978
애창곡집 (Favorite Songs at Home), 1978
이수만과 365일 (Lee Soo-man and 365 Days), 1980
Greatest, 1980
Lee Soo-man, 1983
Lee Soo-man, 1985
끝이 없는 순간 (Endless Moment), 1986
NEW AGE 2, January 1989
NEW AGE, November 1989
External links
S.M. Entertainment – Official website
