K-pop pioneer Lee Soo-man is preparing for a major return to Korea’s music scene next year, following his high-profile public appearances as a visionary producer. As he delivers speeches on the future of K-pop in Seoul and promotes his Chinese girl group A20 May globally, it’s clear that Lee’s influence on the music industry is far from over.
Founder of SM Entertainment, Lee reportedly agreed to a three-year domestic ban on music production when he sold his entire 14.8% stake in the K-pop giant to Hybe for 422.8 billion won ($290 million) in February 2023. As part of the non-compete agreement, Lee is prohibited from engaging in music production activities in Korea until early 2026. Despite this restriction, the influential producer has continued to make waves internationally and maintain a prominent presence both at home and abroad.
Following his departure from SM Entertainment in March 2023, Lee made it clear that he believes the evolution of K-pop lies in its expansion beyond Korea. “K-pop must evolve into global music that transcends Korea,” he stated. “The next era of music will fuse culture and technology, with the goal of contributing to a sustainable future.” His vision suggests that he still considers himself at the forefront of the K-pop revolution, despite being sidelined from the domestic scene for a few more years.
With just under six months left until the ban expires, Lee has been making frequent appearances at major international events. On November 1, he was inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame in Los Angeles, an honour that recognises his contribution to globalising K-pop. He was joined at the event by long-time collaborator Yoo Young-jin and Girls’ Generation’s Sunny, who is also Lee’s niece.
In October, Lee was involved in a white paper titled “From Generation to Attribution: Music AI Agent Architectures for the Post-Streaming Era”, produced by music tech startup NewTune. The paper was submitted to NeurIPS, one of the world’s leading AI conferences. The same month, Lee delivered a keynote speech at the 26th International Society for Music Information Retrieval conference at KAIST in Daejeon, where he discussed how the fusion of culture and technology drove the global success of K-pop.
Earlier, on September 18, Lee gave another keynote address at the Global Media Conference in Seoul, titled “The Birth of a Cultural Operating System: K-pop and the Design of the Next Civilization”. Earlier in the year, he also spoke at the France Music Week Summit at Place de l’Opera in Paris, where he met with French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron reportedly proposed that Lee open an office in France, exploring potential collaborations between creators from both countries.
Lee’s continuous public relations efforts suggest that his return to the Korean market may already be in motion, despite the restrictions on his domestic music activities.
Meanwhile, Lee’s Chinese girl group A20 May—which debuted in December 2023—has been gaining significant traction both in China and abroad. The group has already released four digital singles, with their second single, “BOSS”, released in April, achieving top spots on major music charts in both China and the US. The track topped QQ Music’s new song chart, reaching No. 8 on the main Hot Song Chart, and earned the group a performance slot on CCTV’s Chinese Music Top Chart. In the US, it entered Mediabase’s US Top 40 mainstream radio chart for five consecutive weeks, marking the highest-ever ranking for a Chinese female artist or group.
A20 May continued their momentum in August with the release of “B.B.B (Bigger Badder Better)”, which ranked No. 1 on QQ Music’s real-time chart and dominated multiple daily and trend charts. At the Asian Hall of Fame ceremony on November 1, A20 May won the New Artist Award, further solidifying their growing global presence.
Lee founded A20 Entertainment in May 2023, just two months after his departure from SM Entertainment, following a highly publicised management dispute. Contrary to expectations that he would step away from the industry, Lee quickly set up A20 Entertainment’s headquarters in Singapore, with additional branches in the US, Japan, and China. The company’s YouTube channel, launched in October, introduced trainees predominantly from China and Japan—likely a strategic move considering the restrictions on his domestic activities.
Although A20 May’s sound still bears similarities to traditional K-pop, Lee has referred to the group’s music style as Zalpha Pop, designed specifically for Generation Z and Generation Alpha. This new genre aims to differentiate itself from conventional K-pop and appeal to a global, tech-savvy audience.
Music critic Lim Hee-yun suggested that Lee’s focus on the Chinese market may hold more significance than his potential return to Korea. “From both consumer and producer perspectives, China represents a natural next step for leading future global markets,” said Lim. “Rather than focusing on his possible return to Korea, it will be more interesting to see how Lee combines entertainment and technology to further expand K-pop’s global reach.”
With his extensive global activities, Lee’s influence is not confined to Korea alone. He remains committed to the idea of K-pop as a global cultural movement, and his future plans, especially in the Chinese market, will likely reshape the next phase of the genre’s expansion. While his return to the Korean music scene may be imminent, it is clear that Lee’s impact on the industry will continue to span across borders for years to come.