Lee Soo Man, founder and chairman of SM Entertainment, became the only Korean to be selected for “Variety 500” for four consecutive years.
Variety announced its “Variety 500”, an index of the 500 most influential business leaders shaping the global media industry. Updated Dec 23, the “Variety 500” reflects ths members’ accomplishments over the past year. And among the list is Lee Soo Man, the chief producer in one of the top powerhouses in the K-pop scene.
Lee Soo Man has been on the list from the very first “Variety 500” released in 2017, proving his global influence and the status of K-pop in the global market.
Dubbing producer Lee as the “father of K-pop,” Variety introduced him as “the pathfinder for contemporary K-pop management” who still “remains powerful and keeps expanding the SM universe.” They also wrote some great words in his introduction – “SM quickly became the firm to beat, with groups including TVXQ and EXO going on to pan-Asian and later U.S. success. While the spotlight these days is on Big Hit Entertainment-managed BTS, Lee’s SuperM, dubbed the Avengers of K-pop, is built around seven established multinational acts.”
Lee Soo Man has always been recognized for his role in the K-pop syndrome, becoming the first Korean to be named in “2016 Asia Game Changer Awards” by Asia Society and
The 2020 Billboard Impact List.
