Today’s Money Reporter Kim Gun-woo | 2023.03.31 15:10
At the SM Entertainment (hereinafter referred to as SM) shareholders meeting, the current management and director candidates recommended by Kakao were all elected.
On the afternoon of the 31st, SM held its 28th regular shareholder meeting at Seoul Acro Forest Tower D in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. The shareholders’ meeting scheduled for midday did not take place until 1:00 pm due to the confirmation of the delegation of voting rights.
A total of 2,226 shareholders attended the online and offline shareholder meeting. The number of shares held by shareholders present reached 43.41% (10,160,851 shares) of the total number of shares issued and outstanding with voting rights.
The shareholders’ meeting was △approval of the 28th financial statements and dividends △partial change in articles of incorporation △appointment of internal directors Cheol-hyeok Jang, Ji-won Kim, and Jeong-min Choi △gyu-sik Kim, Tae-hee Kim , Jung-bin Moon, Seung-min Lee, and Jo Sung-moon as outside directors △Chang-hwan Lee, Appointment of Jang Yoon-joong, other non-executive directors, and approval of the limit on completion and inspection acknowledgment was presented and passed .
Cheol-hyeok Jang, SM’s chief financial officer (CFO), in-house director, is an accounting, tax, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) expert with certified public accountant qualifications. He served as head of Bodyfriend’s foreign business department and M&A team leader, and served as Chief Financial Officer of Skin Food and Donga Tanker. After joining SM last year, he worked together to establish the SM 3.0 strategy. Director Jang is a strong candidate for the new CEO at the board meeting to be held this afternoon.
Director Jang Cheol-hyuk said, “We prepared the SM 3.0 strategy in accordance with the interests of our stakeholders, shareholders, K-pop fans, and executives and employees, and presented the agenda for the shareholders’ meeting by gathering a lot of inner wisdom.” “Every executive and employee has enough confidence. Watch in which direction and how it grows.”
After joining SM in 2000, Kim Ji-won, head of the marketing center, established strategies for promoting and marketing the artists under the agency for 20 years. He is evaluated as an external PR and global PR expert optimized for SM 3.0.
Choi Jeong-min, head of the global business center, joined SM in 2003 and served as the casting team, training, and US production and marketing manager. It is expected that he will focus on establishing a global promotion strategy for SM 3.0 and maximizing profits from overseas branches.
Outside directors include Kim Gyu-sik, chairman of the Korea Corporate Governance Forum, Kim Tae-hee, attorney at Pyeongsan Law Firm, Moon Jeong-bin, professor at Korea University Business School, Lee Seung-min, legal attorney of Peter & Kim firm , Cho Sung-moon, CEO of Chartmetric A representative from America was appointed respectively.
At the general shareholders meeting, various questions were raised by the shareholders present. In particular, former CEO Kim Kyung-wook, who served as SM CEO from 1998 to 2005, drew attention by asking questions about similar planning to Lee Soo-man.
Former CEO Kim Kyung-wook said, “The amount that Like Planning took was equivalent to 160 billion won. Did you know that the outsourcing service contract between Like Planning and SM was approved by the board of directors ?” It should be restored, and I wonder if legal action will be taken.”
CEO Lee Seong-soo, who chaired the general shareholder meeting, said, “Questions have nothing to do with the purpose of the general meeting, and it is not appropriate to answer immediately. We need a deep review of different aspects of us. I can’t say the current management has done a good job, but it will take time. The one-by-one improvement was today’s shareholder meeting.”
Representatives Lee Chang-hwan and Jang Yoon-joong, who were appointed as other non-executive directors, also expressed their views on future strategies. CEO Lee Chang-hwan said, “There are cases where activist fund representatives enter the company (board) in foreign countries. The board has authority but also responsibility. We will do our best to help to implement the SM 3.0 strategy.”
Regarding Kakao’s overseas strategy, CEO Jang Yoon-joong replied, “The parts currently in progress will be announced in the future.”
Meanwhile, former general manager Lee did not attend the shareholders’ meeting as he was staying abroad. After selling his stake to Hive, Lee currently has a 3.65% stake. Former general manager Lee is not obliged to disclose even if his share falls below 5.0% and he sells his share in the future.
Former general manager Lee told reporters via email, “SM, which was founded under my name, is ending its life today.”
[저작권자 @머니투데이, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
