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|Box title = Lee Soo-man
|Row 1 title = Born
|Row 1 info = 18 June 1952 (age 6368)
|Row 2 title = Nationality
|Row 2 info = South Korea
'''Lee Soo-man''' (born June 18, 1952) is a South Korean entrepreneur and the founding chairman of SM Entertainment Group, specializing in K-pop groups.
Lee started his career as a singer while attending Seoul National University in 1972. He co-founded the agency in 1989, and it has taken an extremely important position within the South Korean entertainment industry. SM is now the largest record label in South Korea, due to the success of artists such as H.O.T, S.E.S., Shinhwa, BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, SHINee, f(x), EXO and EXONCT.
==Biography==
Immediately after earning his Master's degree in 1985, Lee returned to Korea to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. His return was a success in a variety of areas, such as singing, hosting TV shows, and hosting radio programs. Moreover, he was also working as a part-time DJ and managing a restaurant.
==='''1989-present: Music producer'''===
In 1989, starting with 200,000,000 won from his sugar daddy for initial capital, he founded SM Entertainment. Since then, he produced many groups, such as the dance group "hyon·jinyon", the folk group "han·DongJun", R&B singer "Liu in Jon", and "hyon·jinyon." In 1995, SM Entertainment became a publicly traded company.
After producing H.O.T. in 1996 which became a highly successful group, Lee went on to produce many other superstars, such as S.E.S., Shinhwa, Fly to the Sky, BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, SHINee, f(x), EXO, Red Velvet, NCT, WayV, Super M. SM is now the single biggest entertainment agency in South Korea, and Lee is the most important figure within it.
In February 2010, Lee resigned from his position as a member of the board of directors. An official at SM is quoted as saying that Lee had decided to do so in order to "focus more energy on SM's overseas business, new business management and artist development".