Lee Soo Man, the founder and former chief producer of SM Entertainment, has filed a trademark application for 'A20 Entertainment' under his private company, Blooming Grace.
Last February, Lee Soo Man signed an agreement with HYBE that included a non-compete clause, preventing him from participating in the domestic entertainment industry for three years. However, a recent trademark application by Lee Soo Man has sparked speculation that he might be preparing to re-enter the domestic entertainment market.
According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office’s KIPRIS database, Blooming Grace, represented by Lee Soo Man, filed for the 'A20 Entertainment' trademark on May 3. The application is currently under review and has not yet been approved. Notably, the trademark has been filed as a "domestic trademark," despite Lee Soo Man's previous non-compete agreement.
However, according to the corporate registry, Blooming Grace's current business activities are listed as management, economic and capital market research, and real estate sales and leasing. There is no mention of involvement in the entertainment industry.
After parting ways with SM in March last year, Lee Soo Man established Blooming Grace and focused on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) projects. These efforts included donating 100 million KRW (~73,320 USD) to the Mongolian State Special Committee for disaster tree planting and committing to planting 1,000 street trees annually in Los Angeles.
Lee's focus on overseas ESG activities aligns with the non-compete clause he agreed upon with HYBE, which prevents him from hiring SM employees or entering into production contracts with SM artists for three years. Reports of Lee conducting auditions in China last July further support his emphasis on international endeavors.
Despite this, all of Lee Soo Man’s private companies are headquartered in South Korea. Last August, his companies Blooming Grace, Refolux, and Culture Technology Group Asia moved their offices from Seongdong-gu to Cheongdam-dong, leasing an entire building with two basement levels and five above-ground floors in the luxury street area.
Additionally, Lee Soo Man acquired two buildings near the luxury street in Cheongdam-dong last year. In October, he bought a building adjacent to the old SM headquarters in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam-gu, for 15 billion KRW (11 million USD). In November, he purchased another nearby commercial building for the same amount.
On February 28, 2024, Lee Soo Man exercised his put option to sell his remaining shares of SM Entertainment to HYBE, resulting in HYBE acquiring an additional 868,948 shares for 104.3 billion KRW (77 million USD). This means Lee Soo Man has now sold all his remaining shares in SM.
According to his agreement with HYBE, Lee Soo Man can only re-enter the domestic entertainment industry two years from now. This has led to speculation that the trademark registration for A20 Entertainment is a step towards his return to the domestic entertainment business. A Blooming Grace representative responded to inquiries by saying, "We are currently confirming this."
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No idea about Korean trademark laws, but in many jurisdictions, trademark owners are required to use their trademark within a certain period of time after registration. Typically within the first five years of registration - else, the trademark may be subject to cancellation or revocation. LSM could register one now, then use it in two years (provided that the Korean law also has this grace period). Also, the process of filing a trademark and getting one granted can take a long time (usually between 12-18 months) since it's a complex procedure.
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