SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (CelebrityAccess) – Kakao Corporation has officially become SM Entertainment’s largest shareholder, and SM has announced some management changes – promoting Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jang Cheol-hyuk as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Jang succeeds outgoing CEO Lee Sung-soo. Jang was appointed during the company’s meeting on Friday (March 31), where the company also named new directors who Kakao recommended. The new CEO does not hold any shares in the company, according to MBW.com.
Jang joined SM in February 2022. Before joining SM, he held CFO roles at South Korean skincare and cosmetics manufacturer Skin Food and shipping company Donga Tanker, according to a stock exchange filing.
The change follows a months-long saga that ended last week when Kakao won in its bid to acquire a substantial stake in SM that prevented rival HYBE (Scooter Braun), the agency behind BTS, from taking control of SM.
Former CEO Lee Sung-soo disclosed his plan to step down as CEO and from the company’s board as a director over a month ago. Lee started working at SM as a part-timer, monitoring fans’ comments and activities on the internet, according to Allkpop.
He later joined SM’s A&R branch, collecting demos for what would become South Korean boy band Shinee’s debut album.
Lee was among SM’s executives that opposed what they described as a “hostile takeover” by HYBE and slammed his uncle Lee Soo-man’s “wrongful ways,” according to a separate Allkpop report.
Meanwhile, SM’s board appointed five new directors, four from outside the company.
The new directors are Kim Kyu-sik, Taehee Kim, Moon Keongbin, Lee Seungmin and Sung-moon Cho. The appointments took effect March 31, and their term of office will run for three years, according to a stock exchange filing.
SM’s founder addressed the change at SM, saying in a press release to local media that “the curtains have closed down on one of many eras today at SM Entertainment, a company founded with my name as its initials.”
