The REVENGE of the Founder of K-Pop Explained in 34 Minutes

Lee Soo-man and the Creation of SM

• Lee Soo-man began as a singer and radio personality before studying computer engineering in California. There, he observed how American pop culture packaged music alongside performers’ images, fashion, and fantasy.
• In 1995, he founded SM Entertainment around a system for finding young talent, training them in singing, dancing, and languages, and presenting them as carefully produced idol groups.
• H.O.T.’s 1996 debut became an early landmark in idol culture. SM later launched acts including BoA, TVXQ, Girls’ Generation, SHINee, f(x), EXO, Red Velvet, NCT, and aespa.
• Lee described his approach as “cultural technology”: the idea that star-making could be systematized, refined, and exported. His close association with SM’s creative direction eventually became a source of conflict.
• Shareholders questioned payments from SM to Like Planning, Lee’s private production company. After pressure from activist investor Align Partners, SM’s board said in October 2022 that the contract would end. Lee was thereby excluded from the company’s creative process.

The 2023 Struggle for Control of SM

• In February 2023, SM announced its SM 3.0 strategy, distributing production across several internal labels without a role for Lee.
• Kakao announced plans to acquire an approximately 9% stake in SM. Lee then sold his 14.8% stake to HYBE, which attempted to gain control through a tender offer.
• The fight became public and personal when SM co-CEO Lee Sung-soo posted a YouTube video making allegations about Lee Soo-man, including claims involving an overseas company. Lee’s side disputed the accusations.
• SM’s share price rose above HYBE’s tender-offer price. A court blocked Kakao’s initial share issuance, but Kakao later made a higher offer. HYBE abandoned its takeover attempt, and Kakao ultimately gained a 39.9% stake in SM.
• Prosecutors later alleged that Kakao had manipulated SM’s share price to obstruct HYBE’s bid. Kakao founder Kim Beom-su denied wrongdoing. He was acquitted at first instance in October 2025; prosecutors appealed, so the case remained active according to the video.
• Lee’s agreement with HYBE included a three-year restriction on production work in South Korea, which shaped the next phase of his career.

A2O’s Development and Return to Korea

• Lee established Blooming Grace, then A2O Entertainment, a company headquartered in Singapore with international connections. In 2024, A2O released a video of 15 trainees credited to “SM Lee,” prompting questions about whether his work breached the non-compete clause.
• Lee’s representatives said A2O was based abroad and trained talent for a global market, so his work did not conflict with the agreement. Critics questioned whether a project that looked and sounded like K-pop could be considered outside Korean production. The video says no legal case was brought over the issue.
• A2O promoted the label “Zalpha Pop,” referring to Generation Z and Generation Alpha. Reactions ranged from seeing it as a new direction to viewing it as a marketing term for familiar pop.
• A2O May, a five-member group mainly made up of Chinese members, debuted in December 2024. Its pre-debut work included a cover of TVXQ’s “Mirotic.” The video reports that its single “Boss” reached No. 32 on a U.S. Top 40 radio chart.
• During the non-compete period, A2O registered its Korean trademark and opened a Seoul office. After the restriction expired in early 2026, the company held open auditions in Gangnam. The video presents the restriction as having given Lee time to develop a company, trainees, and an overseas track record before returning to Korea.

Debate About the Members’ Ages

• A2O Light’s nine members come from Korea, Japan, China, Thailand, and the United States. The group’s youngest three members were described as 13, bringing its average age to about 15.1.
• A2O Soul has 15 members, with Korean media reporting that the youngest were about 14. The agency had not publicly addressed the age criticism at the time described.
• The video connects the debate to Lee’s history: BoA debuted at 13, while Krystal and Sulli debuted with f(x) at 14 and 15, respectively. NewJeans’ youngest member, Hyein, was 14 at debut.
• Critics and concerned fans focus on children’s well-being, education, mental health, workload, and right to a childhood. Supporters argue that young performers can be talented, prepared, and supported, and that age alone should not prevent them from debuting.
• The subtitles cite Korean work-hour limits: up to 35 hours per week for artists under 15 and 40 hours for those aged 15–18. Fans nevertheless question whether regulations fully capture the demands of intensive promotions or possible work across multiple units and projects.
• The video stresses that A2O has not explained its reasons for choosing such young members and that it presents no evidence that the company broke any rules.

Comparisons With SM’s Past

• Soon after A2O Light’s debut, online users compared members to former or current SM stars: Oa to Jessica, Aijing to a young BoA, and Bora to Sulli. Some also mentioned Krystal and Irene.
• These comparisons brought attention and nostalgia, but also attached the young members to the histories and pressures of established artists. The video notes that references to Jessica evoke her high-profile departure from Girls’ Generation, while comparisons to Sulli are especially sensitive given the online criticism she faced and her death in 2019.
• The comparisons may be fan interpretations rather than intentional marketing. Still, they prompt a broader question: whether A2O is drawing on SM’s legacy to attract attention, and whether that makes it harder for its members to establish identities of their own.

Former SM Personnel and the “Old SM” Impression

• Producer Yoo Young-jin, known for work across several generations of SM acts, took charge of music and performances for A2O’s Korean groups. Reviews of A2O Light’s “Neon” noted its electronic sound, dense harmonies, auto-tune, and strong beat—qualities some listeners associated with older SM releases.
• In 2025, Sunny of Girls’ Generation joined A2O. The agency said she was receiving production training under Yoo Young-jin; later reports said he guided both A2O groups before debut.
• Some fans saw Sunny’s experience as valuable to rookies. Others raised questions about family connections, since Sunny is Lee Soo-man’s niece, and interpreted the moves as a reunion of SM-era personnel.
• BoA’s SM contract ended in December 2025 after 25 years. A2O’s possible involvement with her was rumored, but neither a move to A2O nor a formal joining was confirmed in the video.
• Together, Lee’s return, Yoo Young-jin’s involvement, and Sunny’s move made A2O feel to some viewers like a continuation of an earlier SM era. The video frames this as both a source of interest and a risk: A2O could benefit from nostalgia but be defined as an echo of SM.

Technology and the Debut Presentation

• At A2O’s October 2026 launch event, Lee presented 4D Gaussian Splatting, a technique that combines footage from multiple cameras to reconstruct performers in 3D. Creators can then design new camera movements after filming.
• A2O used the technology in videos for “Superstar” and “Neon.” Lee described the aim as making music videos and performances feel different from what came before.
• The technique was not invented by A2O; the video says it had appeared in academic research in 2023. Critics therefore questioned whether the event made A2O’s adoption of an emerging tool seem more revolutionary than it was.
• Lee had previously discussed other technology projects, including an “Infinite Studio” system, an AI chatbot, and a planned school for young creators. The event also let visitors interact with AI recreations of group members, which some found futuristic and others unsettling—particularly because some members are minors.
• The competing interpretations are that Lee is once again anticipating a new production system, or that the technology presentation distracted from the performers and branded familiar electronic pop as “Zalpha Pop.” The video says it is too early to know whether the approach will become standard practice or fade away. It also notes that the members’ performances were described as polished and energetic.

A2O Versus SM

• A2O’s group names—A2O Soul and A2O Light—put the company’s identity directly in front of each act. Cultural critic Bae Guknam interpreted this as emphasizing Lee himself, long regarded as central to SM.
• A2O’s structure, in which members may combine across units, solo activities, and projects, recalls Lee’s expandable NCT model. Its fictional universe, A2O Cosmic Epic, also echoes the kind of connected storytelling associated with SM.
• A2O debuted a boy group and a girl group on the same day, a strategy that could increase attention but also divide it. The timing—30 years after H.O.T.’s debut—underscores the contrast between Lee’s new company and the SM he founded.
• The video presents the two companies as competing answers to what K-pop should look like after Lee’s departure: SM has its history, catalogue, and established roster; A2O has Lee, familiar creative methods, and a high-profile debut, alongside questions about young members, nostalgia, personnel ties, and technology.
• Its overall conclusion is deliberately open-ended: A2O may be a new phase of Lee’s vision, or a repetition of the formula that made SM successful. Either way, the teenagers in the groups now carry the weight of a rivalry that began before they were old enough to understand it.

Speakers and Sources Featured or Referenced

• Narrator: Provides the video’s chronology, explanation, and commentary.
• Lee Soo-man: Quoted or represented through remarks about his plans, A2O, and technology, as well as his letter to the media.
• BoA: Referenced through an early-debut remark and her statement about leaving SM.
• Lee Sung-soo: Former SM co-CEO whose YouTube video made allegations about Lee Soo-man; those allegations were disputed.
• A2O representatives / A2O Entertainment: Their responses about the non-compete clause, company structure, and Sunny’s role are reported.
• SM Entertainment and its board: Referenced through statements and decisions about SM 3.0, Like Planning, and BoA’s contract.
• HYBE and Kakao: Referenced through their takeover announcements and share offers.
• Align Partners: The activist investor that criticized the Like Planning arrangement.
• Prosecutors and courts: Referenced in accounts of the alleged stock-price manipulation and the court’s acquittal of Kim Beom-su at first instance.
• Korean media, industry sources, and a reporter: Cited for reporting on the non-compete questions, group ages, A2O’s performance, and other developments.
• Bae Guknam: Korean pop-culture critic who commented on the group names and Lee’s prominence.
• Fans and online commenters: Their reactions and comparisons are summarized; individual comments are not consistently identified.
• Researchers and technology events: Academic research, KAIST, and SIGGRAPH are referenced in connection with the filming technology and Lee’s earlier presentations.