In the latest of a series of strategy reports outlining SM Entertainment's company growth initiative, 'SM 3.0', co-CEO Tak Young Joon announced the agency's ambitious goal of "becoming the undisputed #1 K-Pop agency in the industry."

First, 'SM 3.0: Global Expansion & Investment Strategy' revealed, 

"By 2025, our annual sales goal will be 1.8 trillion KRW (~ $1.4 billion USD), and our annual operating profit goal will be 500 billion KRW (~ $384.7 million USD). Due to issues of a power-based internal management structure, SM Entertainment's competitive value in the market has thus far been underrated. However, if we can fulfill the 'SM 3.0' initiative by 2025, we have no doubt that such figures will be very much within reach."

Next, SM Entertainment director Park Joon Young relayed the company's intentions to expand its business to the global market in three stages. 

"The first stage consists of global promotion and expansion with domestic creative production at the center of distribution. The second stage will consist of moving operations including management and distribution overseas, with creative production and IP development still centered in Korea. The third stage will then establish all operations beginning with creative production, A&R, management, and distribution in the target market overseas." 

On global expansion strategies pertaining to each region, Park Joon Young explained,

"Very soon in 2023, SM Entertainment will establish a corporate body in Japan housing its own global operation base, including casting, training, A&B, and more. Then, beginning with the debut of NCT Tokyo in the second half of 2023, the second phase of the global expansion project will proceed into the founding of a global creative production and distribution body in Japan.

In order to infiltrate the U.S. music market in the most efficient way possible, SM Entertainment will pursue initiatives such as a strategic partnership and large-scale investment. Through the strategic partnership, a global distribution center will also be introduced in the U.S, as well as potential options for the acquisition of an existing management body in the country. In addition to promoting domestic artists in the U.S. market, in the second half of 2024, we plan to debut a new artist cast and trained in the U.S.

In Southeast Asia, we plan to expand existing artists' performances and activities. Afterward, we gradually plan on recruiting trainees with a Southeast Asian background in order to produce new groups targeting this market."

Finally, in this strategy plan, SM Entertainment's first ever virtual artist Naevis relayed her greeting to the public. You can watch the full strategy plan video above.