Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment, a major Korean entertainment agency, was invited to a private screening of the film “The Lady” hosted by the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington D.C. on Monday, the agency said in a press release on Wednesday.

Clinton hosted the event to introduce “The Lady,” a film about the life of Nobel peace prize laureate and a long-time Myanmar opposition politician Aung San Suu Kyi, at the head office of the Motion Picture Association of America in Washington D.C.

Lee was invited to the private event because of his friendship with actress Michelle Yeoh, who starred in the film as Suu Kyi, and also his acquaintance with Clinton. 

In November last year, Lee, upon Yeoh’s request, delivered a DVD of “The Lady” to Clinton who was then about to leave Seoul for Myanmar to meet with Suu Kyi.

Clinton was able to watch the film aboard her flight to Myanmar, SM Entertainment said. The U.S. Secretary of State expressed her gratitude to Lee during the movie night, it added.

The 2011 film, directed by Luc Besson who is best known for his movies “Leon” and “The Big Blue,” has received widespread attention again after the Suu Kyi and her party won a landslide victory in parliament early this month.

By Cho Chung-eun (christory@heraldcorp.com)