Lee Soo-man

On January 23, 2020, Lee Soo Man was listed by Billboard as one of the world's influential music industry leaders.

On February 05, 2020, It was revealed by Jeff Benjamin writing for Forbes that Lee Soo Man worked on Korean Girl Group Loona EP [#] which was his first ever project away from namesake SM Entertainment.

Lee's wife, Kim Eunjin, died from cancer on 30 September 2014. He is also the paternal uncle of Sunny, one of the members of the popular SM group Girls' Generation.

In February 2010, Lee resigned from his position as a member of SM's board of directors, but maintained a role in the company's "management and artist development" divisions.

Following his return to Korea, Lee ventured back into the entertainment world by working as a DJ and presenter. In 1989, after four years of saving money and gaining experience in the industry, he established an entertainment company called SM Studio (named after his initials) in the Apgujeong neighborhood of Seoul, and signed singer Hyun Jin-young. During the 1990s, SM Studio developed an in-house system that looked after all aspects of its artists' careers. Lee's approach was targeted at teenage audiences, and took a holistic view of the qualities needed to become a successful entertainer. The company was renamed SM Entertainment in 1995.

In 1980, he formed the band 이수만과 365일 (Lee Soo-man and The 365 Days). However, media censorship policies under the Chun Doo-hwan government discouraged him from a career in the Korean music industry.

In the early 1980s, Lee decided to leave the entertainment world in order to pursue a career in computer engineering. He went abroad to work on a master's degree at California State University, Northridge, where he witnessed the rise of "superstars of the MTV generation" such as Michael Jackson. Inspired by the heyday of MTV in the United States, Lee set his sights on laying the foundation for the modern Korean pop music industry. In 1985, he returned to Korea "with a vision of what the Korean music industry could be."

Lee Soo-man (born 18 June 1952) is a South Korean record producer and executive, best known as the founder of SM Entertainment, a multinational entertainment company based in Seoul, South Korea. He has also been referred to as the "president of culture", as he pioneered the Korean Wave. Lee debuted as a singer in 1971, while he was a student at Seoul National University. He founded SM Entertainment in 1989, which becomes one of the largest record labels and management companies in South Korea.

Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea on 18 June 1952, and attended Seoul National University on and off between 1971 and 1979. He debuted as a singer in 1972, and became known for hit songs such as "행복 (Happiness)" and "한송이 꿈 (A Piece of Dream)". In addition to his career as a musician and his studies in university, he also worked as a radio DJ and TV host during this time.