The local entertainment industry has grown rapidly amid the endless expansion of hallyu in the form of K-pop, Korean dramas, movies and more.

Although the Korean entertainment business may still be in its infancy compared to the breadth of those overseas like Hollywood, it has nonetheless bred some very wealthy performer-turned-producers and entertainment company CEOs, who are now worth billions of won in assets.

The Korea Herald has dug deeper into the four most famous moneybags in Korean show business.


Lee Soo-man, SM Entertainment CEO

268.7 billion won, SM’s 2013 sales

1 trillion won, SM’s 2013 total market value

203.8 billion won, Value of stocks owned

The wealthiest man in the local entertainment business is CEO Lee Soo-man of SM Entertainment.

Lee owns 4,392,368 shares, roughly worth 203.8 billion won ($193.6 million), of SM Entertainment and is also the industry’s richest man in terms of real estate.

The standard market price for two of the buildings he owns in Apgujeong-dong, an upscale neighborhood in Seoul, is 19.08 billion won. However, if put on the market, they are expected to fetch at least 56 billion won.

Separately, Lee’s frequent trouble with the law seems to precede his reputation. In 2002, he was indicted on suspicion of embezzlement, while in 2004 he was sentenced to two years in prison with a three-year stay of execution.

Lee again stood at the center of gossip early this year due to growing suspicions of attempted tax evasion through a paper company, which he reportedly used to purchase a luxury vacation home in Los Angeles.

SM claims that the corporation in dispute has no connection to Lee and that the money he had used to buy the residence was already reported to the appropriate authorities.

Yang Hyun-suk, YG Entertainment CEO

116.3 billion won, YG’s 2013 sales

660 billion won, YG’s 2013 total market value

195 billion won, Value of stocks owned

Back in the day when Yang Hyun-suk was a member of Korean pop group Seo Taiji & Boys, his nickname was “Yang Goon,” which was mainly derived from his sluggish look in contrast to his rather sophisticated and classy hip-hop music.

However, Yang appears the complete opposite of this naive image when it comes to business instincts in seizing opportunities.

His share value as the chief executive of YG Entertainment is a sizable 195 billion won.

Apart from YG’s ability as an entertainment management agency to scope out and produce idol groups that have very unique and distinct personalities, such as Big Bang and 2NE1, luck was also with the company.

Unlike most entertainment agencies that struggle to get listed, YG succeeded in becoming a public corporation at the end of 2011 on its first try.

At about the same time, YG artist Psy stormed the global charts with his viral sensation “Gangnam Style,” providing synergy for the agency.

Park Jin-young, JYP Entertainment CEO

21.3 billion won, JYP’s 2013 sales

193.7 billion won, JYP’s 2013 total market value

31.8 billion won, Value of stocks owned

Although JYP Entertainment, led by singer-producer Park Jin-young, is deemed one of the big three entertainment agencies alongside SM and YG, it falls short of the two in overall scale.

JYP’s total sales turnover for 2013 was 21.3 billion won, but the company suffered a loss of 2.5 billion won.

In the same year, SM recorded 268.7 billion won in sales and 40.5 billion won in profits, whereas YG reported sales of 116.3 billion won and profits of 22.2 billion won. Park’s stock assets are also a relatively thin 31.8 billion won.

If considering the history of JYP Entertainment, however, the reasons are clearer

Park is known to often go off the deep end, frequently challenging himself in order to explore places where others have not gone.

For instance, he persistently had his artists, such as Rain (formerly part of JYP) and the Wonder Girls, attempt debuts in the United States, while he himself would also produce music overseas.

JYP is understood as having continuously experimented while directly targeting the hub of pop culture.


Bae Yong-joon, KEYEAST’s largest shareholder

69.5 billion won, KEYEAST’s 2013 sales

197.8 billion won, KEYEAST’s 2013 total market value

65.8 billion won, Value of stocks owned

Representing the first generation of hallyu stars, Bae Yong-joon is the largest stockholder of KEYEAST, an agency mainly comprised of actors, with 21,900,510 shares or 65.8 billion won.

Unlike SM’s Lee Soo-man or YG’s Yang Hyun-suk, Bae does not own any real estate assets besides his 5 billion won home in Seongbuk-dong.

Yet he takes part in various activities revolving around hallyu. Other celebrities that belong to KEYEAST include actors Kim Hyun-joong and Kim Soo-hyun, who are on the rise to becoming the second generation of hallyu stars.

In 2011 and 2012, Bae also produced two series of the drama “Dream High,” which gained tremendous popularity worldwide thanks to a cast of popular idol stars currently at the top of K-pop.

Moreover, he runs several Korean restaurants in Japan and is involved in spreading the Korean culture to the rest of the world.

By The Korea Herald Special Report Team
(jhk@heraldcorp.com)

(Illustrations by Park Gee-young)