Lee Soo Man wants to return to the industry; HYBE refuses to remove a clause preventing Soompi

Lee Soo Man wants to get back into the industry.

On March 12, we learned that HYBE pulled out of the battle to buy SM Entertainment after failing to buy new stakes in the agency.

Subsequently, Kakao had expressed that the company would grant SM its autonomy and independence without interfering with the agency, and Kakao became the controlling shareholder of SM Entertainment.

Previously, after buying Lee Soo Man’s stock, HYBE thought it was winning the bet. About Lee Soo Man, HYBE had received 14.8% stake before receiving just another 0.98% through its takeover bid, ultimately forcing HYBE to pull out of the battle over SM Entertainment, thus urging HYBE to resell all of its stakes in Kakao.

When selling his shares, Lee Soo Man had signed a non-competition clause in the contract with HYBE, which stipulates that the seller of his shares (Lee Soo Man) is prohibited from starting a similar company that can compete with the buyer (HYBE) for a certain period of time.

However, Lee Soo Man struggles to sell his stake in HYBE only to end up losing. In fact, he hoped to keep SM Entertainment’s monopoly by giving HYBE control of the agency, but his plans fell through with Kakao’s victory, especially as HYBE then sold Lee’s old stake in Soo Man in Kakao.

Now he wants to return to the industry. However, this clause prevents him from doing so.

On May 6, it was revealed that it was Lee Soo Man “Particularly upset by what he sees as a betrayal on the part of HYBE. »

He would have already petitioned HYBE to remove this clause so that he would be free to practice again, but HYBE refuses and replies: “The acquisition of SM Entertainment was unrelated to the contract signed with Lee Soo Man and therefore there is no legal obligation to waive that clause. »

Source: hankyung