1989–2000: Creation and first generation artists[edit]

After graduating from California State University, Northridge in the United States, Lee Soo-
man returned to Korea and in 1989 established what was then known as "SM Studio" in
the Apgujeong neighborhood of Gangnam, Seoul. In February 1995, the company changed its name
to SM Entertainment and set up its capital fund. [9] SM then developed an in-house production system
and created a string of successful artists, including boy band H.O.T. in 1996, girl group S.E.S. in
1997, boy band Shinhwa in 1998, R&B duo Fly to the Sky in 1999, and soloist BoA in 2000.
Jung Hae-ik was appointed CEO at the time of SM's official reestablishment in 1995,[10] and was
succeeded by Kim Kyung-wook in 1998.

2000–2005: Affiliations and second generation artists[edit]

Super Junior at KCON in 2015.

The early 2000s saw the disbandment of both H.O.T (in 2001) and S.E.S (in 2002). [11] Shinhwa
departed to a new agency, and new acts like the duo Isak N Jiyeon and the boy band Black
Beat failed to attain the popularity of previous SM artists.[11] In December 2000, SM established an
affiliate company called Fandango Korea. [12] In January 2001, the company founded an overseas
division, SM Entertainment Japan. [13] Around the same time, the company was approved for listing
on KOSDAQ, and SM established an affiliation with the Japanese major label Avex Trax. SM also
formed the subsidiaries BM Entertainment and Cid. K Entertainment (under which the girl
groups M.I.L.K. and Shinvi were signed, respectively), but they later dissolved when their groups
disbanded.
In late 2002, SM was awarded the Grand Prix of Ministry of Culture and Tourism for the Culture
Contents for Export Award in music.[14]
In 2003, SM became affiliated with Starlight Corporation Ltd. and C-Cube Entertainment
Corporation. That same year, the company debuted five-member boy group TVXQ. The following
years saw the debuts of artists such as TRAX (2004), The Grace (2005), and Super Junior (2005).

2005–2010: Expansion and international artists[edit]

Girl's Generation at the DMC Festival in September 2015

In 2005, Kim Young-min became the company's third CEO,[7] under whom several artists debuted
with a view to promoting outside of South Korea. Artists produced by SM during this period included
Chinese-born soloist Zhang Liyin (2006), Japanese-language soloist J-Min (2007), Girls'
Generation (2007), Shinee (2008), and f(x) (2009). In April 2008, SM debuted a Mandarin-language
sub-unit of Super Junior, named Super Junior-M. In October 2008, SM announced plans for BoA's
debut in the American market, under a newly formed subsidiary label named SM Entertainment
USA.
In May 2008, the SM Art Company opened under co-CEO Pyo In-bong, with a focus on producing
theatrical works. The company's first venture was a production of the American musical
comedy Xanadu, starring Super Junior members Heechul and Kangin.[15]

2010–2012: Joint and further ventures[edit]

See also: SM Culture & Contents

Shinee in October 2016

In February 2010, after two decades on SM's board of directors, founder Lee Soo-man resigned
from his position in order to "focus more energy on SM's overseas business, new business
management, and artist development." [16] In March of the same year, KMP Holdings was established
as a joint venture between SM, YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, Star Empire, Medialine, CAN
Entertainment, and Music Factory.[17] The firm's first release from SM was Super Junior's fifth studio
album, Mr. Simple, which marked the end of SM's self-distribution. In May, SM announced its
highest ever first quarter operating profits, at KR₩10.4 billion, up 471% from the same period the
previous year. Gross revenue was reported at KR₩22.7 billion, a 58% increase on the previous
year.[18]
In April 2011, SM, YG, JYP, KeyEast, AMENT, and Star J Entertainment came together to form
United Asia Management, a joint investment agency geared towards advancing Asian music
worldwide. That August, SM joined with Thai media company TrueVisions to create an international
joint venture, SM True.[19]
f(x) in October 2015

Exo in June 2016

In 2012, SM debuted the large-scale boy group Exo, split into two units in order to promote in Korea
and China simultaneously.[20] In February, SM acquired Hawaiian travel firm Happy Hawaii and
launched SMTown Travel, a new business initiative specializing in travel and tourism under Kang
Jung-hyun.[21][22] Later that year, SMTown Travel offered package deals for overseas fans attending
Super Junior's Super Show 4 Tour encore concerts in Seoul.[23] In March, 47 of SM's recording artists
became stockholders of the company. Kangta, BoA, and most members of Super Junior and Girls’
Generation received 680 shares each (with a value of approximately US$27,200 per person), while
members of more recent groups like Shinee and f(x) received 340 shares each (with a value of
around US$13,600 per person). [24] In August, SM held an art exhibition at the COEX Convention &
Exhibition Center,[25] and collaborated with Visa and KB Kookmin Card to begin printing SM artist
cards.[26] That same month, Korean TV personalities Kang Ho-dong and Shin Dong-yup announced
that they had signed exclusive contracts with SM's new broadcasting subsidiary, SM Culture &
Contents (SM C&C), marking SM's expansion into television. [27][28] The next month, in September, SM
C&C merged with AM Entertainment (which then represented top actors such as Jang Dong-
gun, Kim Ha-neul, and Han Ji-min),[29] and two other TV personalities, Lee Su-geun and Kim Byung-
man, announced that they had also signed with SM.[30] In November, KMP Holdings was acquired
by KT Music, and in June 2013, KT Music absorbed KMP's distribution network. [31]

2013–2015: Third generation artists[edit]

See also: SM Rookies, Label SJ, and SM Station

Red Velvet in May 2019

In 2013, SM C&C acquired Hoon Media (a production company led by Lee Hoon-hee, responsible
for KBS serials 1 vs 100, Heroines 6, Qualifications of Men, and Music Bank) and Woollim
Entertainment, a record label responsible for artists such as Infinite.[32] In January 2014, SM and the
other six talent agencies behind KMP Holdings formed a collective bond partnership and bought
13.48% of KT Music's stocks, leaving parent KT Corporation with 49.99%.[33] In February, SM
acquired a share in Baljunso, an indie record label founded in 1991 by Kang Byung-yong. [34] On
August 1, SM debuted Red Velvet, its first girl group since f(x) five years prior.
In August 2015, SM partnered with sports marketing company IB Worldwide to create Galaxia SM,
responsible for golfer Park In-bee, gymnast Son Yeon-jae, and Choo Shin-soo, right fielder for
the Texas Rangers.[35] On November 6, the 10th anniversary of Super Junior's debut, SM announced
the creation of the group's own sub-label, Label SJ.[36] In late 2015, SM partnered with modeling
company ESteem to promote self-owned content and network. [38] The venture later expanded its
acting division through the acting debuts of models Ki Do-hoon and Lee Cheol-woo.
In 2015, SM had reported revenues of KR₩325 billion (approximately US$287 million) and a net
income of KR₩21.7 billion (US$19 million).[37]

2016–present: International expansion and business

partnerships[edit]
NCT 127 during a recording of Music Bank in October 2018

NCT Dream during a recording of Music Bank in August 2018.

In January 2016, founder Lee Soo-man held a conference at the SM Coex Artium, announcing plans
for a new boy group, NCT (Neo Culture Technology), with "unlimited members". [38][39] The first unit of
this group, NCT U, released its first two singles in April 2016. [40] NCT has since expanded to three
more units - the South Korea-based fixed unit NCT 127 in July 2016,[41] the youth/teen-aged unit NCT
Dream in August 2016,[42] and the China-based WayV in January 2019.[43] WayV is being managed by
their own sub-label, Label V.[43] With members debuting yearly from 2016 to 2020, NCT as a whole
currently has 23 members.[44]
At the beginning of the year, the company opened a restaurant, SMT Seoul, [45] and also established a
series of stores selling branded foods under the name SUM Market. [46] On February 11, 2016, the
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group acquired a 4 percent minority stake in SM Entertainment
for US$30 million.[47]
On May 5, 2016, SM released the first single under its newly established EDM label ScreaM
Records, "Wave", featuring f(x) members Amber and Luna and produced by Xavi & Gi and E-mart's
Electro Mart.[48][49] ScreaM Records opened as part of SM's New Culture Technology 2016 project,
under which SM also initiated the digital music channel SM Station and a number of mobile apps.
[50]
 In late 2016, SM began organizing a League of Legends tournament called SM Super Celeb
League, in which SM artists Heechul and Baekhyun played against both professional gamers and
fans from South Korea and China.[51]
On February 16, 2017, a source from the task force in charge of the international K-pop
academy has plans to open this upcoming September. The Gangnam-based academy is a
collaborative venture with the private Jongro Sky Academy. Plans for the school to be certified as an
alternative program for domestic Korean middle and high school education, as well as US secondary
school education, are also underway.[52] In March 2017, SM acquired the independent record
label Mystic Entertainment, becoming the label's largest shareholder. [53]
In October 2018, SM partnered up with Trans Media of Indonesia, which was owned by CT Corp.
[54]
 In February 2019, Trans Media and SM signed their Heads of Joint Venture Agreement together.
[55]
 Later, on the same month, SM opened its Indonesian office in Jakarta. [56][57]
WayV at a fanmeeting in December 2019

SuperM at a press conference in October 2019

On August 8, 2019, SM and Capitol Music Group – which earlier signed NCT 127 in April 2019[58] –
announced SuperM, a supergroup consisting of Taemin from Shinee, Baekhyun and Kai from Exo,
and Taeyong, Ten, Lucas and Mark from NCT units NCT 127, NCT Dream and WayV, in the 2019
Capitol Congress event in Los Angeles.[59] The group debuted in October 2019.[59] The group's self-
titled EP entered the Billboard 200 albums chart at number one, making SuperM the first Asian artist
in history to top the US album chart with a debut release. [60]
In November 2019, SM signed with Creative Artists Agency for representation in all areas.[61]
In March 2020, SM appointed production head Lee Sung Soo as the company's new CEO, as well
as Tak Young Joon as SM's new chief marketing officer (CMO).[62]
By April 2020, it was announced that SM and Naver had signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) with purpose to expand the reach of concerts to global audience. The joint efforts leads to the
creation of Beyond Live, a series of online live concerts, which were created in light of the
ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[63] On April 20, SM released the first trailer on their official YouTube
channel announcing the upcoming series of live concerts dubbed as the "new era of live concert",
with the first live show to be headlined by SuperM. [64] The concerts are hosted on Naver's V Live app
and made available to audience from more than 200 countries. On August 3, Naver invested ₩100
billion in SM. This would be used for their subsidiaries SMEJ Plus and Mystic Story, as well as plans
for merging their fanclubs into V Live's Fanship platform and developing more Beyond Live concerts.
[65]
 A day later, SM announced its partnership with JYP Entertainment to establish Beyond Live
Corporation, a joint company for producing Beyond LIVE concerts. [66][67]
SM Town COEX Artium closed in June 2020. [68] Expected to replace it is a new "culture complex"
located in Changwon, which has been planned since 2016 and expected to finish construction by
2020.[69] In addition to the new complex, SM partnered with Jongro Haneul Education to launch SM
Institute, which is an educational facility to train local and international students to become aspiring
artists; the institute is expected to open in March 2021. [70]
On June 12, it was announced that SM partnered with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra to record
orchestral versions of popular SM K-pop songs under the name SM Classics. [71][72] SM Classics has
released four reworked songs so far: "Make a Wish" by NCT U "Red Flavor" by Red Velvet, "End of
a Day" by Jonghyun, and "Tree" by BoA.[73][72]
Aespa at a radio show appearance in 2021

In October 2020, SM announced the November debut of Aespa, their first new girl group in six years.
[74]

On May 7, 2021, SM announced to develop a competition series to scout young American men to
form a U.S.-based K-pop group. Named "NCT Hollywood" [75]
On December 27, 2021, SM announced the creation of their rotational all-female supergroup Girls
On Top. The group's first lineup, Got the Beat, consists of BoA, Taeyeon and Hyoyeon from Girls'
Generation, Seulgi and Wendy from Red Velvet, and Karina and Winter from Aespa. The group
released their debut single "Step Back" on January 3, 2022.[76]