SM Entertainment CEO Chris Lee has released a scathing video accusing the company’s founder of tax evasion and delaying Aespa’s comeback album.
Chris Lee, born Lee Sung-su, goes on the offensive against his own uncle, Lee Soo-man, in a 30-minute video uploaded to his YouTube channel on Thursday.
In the video, which is labeled as being part one of a series, he makes several bombshell accusations and declares, “We as members of SM Entertainment cannot stand by and watch the company be controlled by Lee Soo-man.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9AFwNHIjF0
According to Chris, Lee Soo-man has engaged in offshore tax avoidance since the 2019 founding of Hong Kong-based production company CT Planning (CTP) Limited.
Chris alleges that CTP takes 6% of SM Entertainment’s revenue before it is divided with overseas distributors.
The CEO compares this arrangement to one SM had with Lee Soo-man’s other private company, Like Planning, which collected up to 6% of SM’s annual revenue under consulting and production fees. Through this, Like Planning accumulated over $109 million over the past 20 years.
“The contract between SM Entertainment and Like Planning was deemed invalid in both 2014 and 2021 and resulted in SM Entertainment paying back trillions of Korean won in back taxes,” Chris claims. SM terminated ties with Like Planning on Dec. 31, 2022, but are still connected to CTP.
Chris further alleges that Lee Soo-man had SM conjure a consulting agreement to legitimize his actions and had artists sign a separate contract with CTP for other promotions.
He also alleges Lee Soo-man undermined revenue reports to convey the label was in need of his guidance to turn a profit.
Even after he stops producing, SM would need to pay Lee Soo-man 6 percent of revenue sales from artists’ albums for the next 70 years, as well as 3 percent of management revenue for three years from 2023. That’s approximately 80 billion won (approximately…
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