Last year, SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo Man acquired over 500 Billion KRW (380 million USD) in cash by relinquishing his operational rights to SM Entertainment over to Kakao Entertainment when HYBE withdrew from the SM acquisition.

In the midst of this, news has emerged that Lee Soo Man may earn more through a company he recently invested in.

According to a March 6 Herald Economy report, the former SM chief producer had invested in Pablo Air, a Korean drone company in the urban air mobility (UAM) sector, and the company's valuation has increased to 150 billion KRW (~114 million USD).

Pablo Air is the company that possesses the technology to control clustered drones. It also launched smart logistics delivery services using drones when the company opened the first convenience store drone delivery center in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.

According to industry sources, Pablo Air has successfully attracted investment with an enterprise value of over 100 Billion KRW (~75.9 million USD) and is planning to launch an IPO this year.

Pablo Air selected Daishin Securities as its lead underwriter in March 2023 and has been preparing for its public listing. If there are no unforeseen changes, the listing will likely occur in 2024.

If the listing is successful this year, Lee Soo Man is expected to reap substantial investment profits. Lee Soo Man is said to have invested 1 Billion KRW (760,000 USD) in Pablo Air back in 2019 in seed funding and holds a 20% stake in the company as one of the two major shareholders. Lee Soo Man is expected to make a return of over 20 times the initial investment, totaling more than 20 billion KRW (15.2 million USD) in just about four years.