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South Korean multinational company SM Entertainment will set up its Southeast Asia headquarters in Singapore as a part of its plan to expand in the region. On December 1, 2022, CNBC confirmed the news and also shared that SM Entertainment has signaled their future recruitment plans in Singapore through an email.
On top of that, the K-pop label also plans to kickstart retail businesses in Singapore, including cafes, merchandise stores, pop-up stores, and more. Moreover, the company will not limit its expansion to Singapore but wants to establish itself in the Middle East too.
As per CNBC, the Singapore headquarters will also overlook ventures in Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, while simultaneously communicating with the Korea office.
SM Entertainment is looking to expand beyond Korea
For a wider reach in Asia, SM Entertainment is going beyond the Korean borders to establish its Southeast Asia headquarters in Singapore. Although the company has not shared the financial details of the Singapore venture, they plan to hire locals to grow their staff count in the country. Moreover, they are planning to recruit undergraduates or fresh graduates for internships.
In his interview with CNBC, Lee Soo-man, founder of SM Entertainment, said his team likes to nurture talent through the Cultural Technology system he developed years ago. The systematic K-pop training system, started by Lee Soo-man, allows singers and dancers to excel in four stages: casting, training, marketing/management, and producing.
Additionally, he has been determined to produce another NCT subunit, NCT Singapore, if the opportunity comes.
SM's email to CNBC mentioned their plans to expand in Southeast Asia. Their Indonesian branch is already running smoothly and has bagged brand endorsements such as Mie Sedaap and Sasa for Choi Siwon (Super Junior) and Somethinc and Lemonilo for NCT Dream.
As for producing groups and music in the future, Lee shared that SuperM will be making their comeback in 2023, in addition to developing new groups and subunits such as NCT Tokyo and NCT Saudi.
NCT currently has 23 members, and it will be thrilling for fans to witness more of them joining the company and group.
Back in October, Yonhap agency (South Korea) reported that SM Entertainment will end its contract with Lee Soo-man and his music production channel, Planning. The contract ends on December 31, however, Lee will remain the largest shareholder in the publicly listed company.
SM Entertainment is known for managing and producing some of the biggest K-pop groups and soloists. These include TVXQ, BoA, Girls Generation (SNSD), Super Junior, NCT, aespa, SHINee, EXO, Red Velvet, and more.
