SM Entertainment re-tapping Tak Young-jun for co-CEO

The K-pop powerhouse is seeking to reappoint Tak Young-jun as co-CEO a year after he vacated the position at the end of his term in the same month as Kakao claimed a controlling stake in the company.

SM Entertainment co-CEOs Jang Cheol-hyuk, left, and Tak Young-jun [SM ENTERTAINMENT]

SM Entertainment is re-tapping Tak Young-jun for co-CEO a year after he vacated the position shortly in the wake of Kakao's purchase of a controlling stake in the K-pop company.

The decision to reinstate Tak will be put on the agenda of the shareholders' meeting on March 27 and will take effect the day after if it is passed by a majority vote, SM said Tuesday.

Tak joined SM Entertainment in 2001 and was in charge of managing and producing some of the agency's biggest stars: Shinhwa, BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, SHINee, EXO, Red Velvet, NCT and aespa. He has been serving as the company's chief operating officer (COO) since last March.

He previously held SM Entertainment's co-CEO position from March 2020 to March 2023 simultaneously with Lee Sung-soo. The two left after their three-year terms ended on March 26, 2023, which came two weeks after HYBE walked away from its monthlong battle with Kakao to buy a controlling stake in SM on March 12.

Jang Cheol-hyuk, the former chief financial officer of SM Entertainment, was appointed as the company's CEO since that March. Jang's term will end on March 26 and Tak's term will end in March 2027.

"CEO Jang Cheol-hyuk will focus on the business side, including aligning the system with Kakao and other affiliates, mergers and acquisitions, investor relations and management, while CEO Tak Young-jun will lead the company's artist management and content production to spearhead the SM 3.0 strategy for the company to take another leap as a leading entertainment company," the agency said in a press release.

SM Entertainment's shares have been falling since August of last year but saw yet another steep dip last month when Karina of girl group aespa disclosed that she has been actor Lee Jae-wook. The company's shares closed at 75,300 won ($57.52) on Tuesday, down 0.7 percent from the previous day and down 22 percent from 96,500 won on Jan. 10, the highest this year.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]