The Promise SM Entertainment Didn’t Keep In 2023

Early 2023 was a tumultuous time for the executives of SM Entertainment, with a very public disagreement taking place between the company’s former co-CEOs and its founder, Lee Soo Man, and a brief “battle” occurring between Korean powerhouse companies Kakao and HYBE as they both vied to become SM Entertainment’s largest shareholders.

Kakao eventually acquired the shares, with HYBE declaring their intent to pursue another venture instead, and in March 2023, it was confirmed that SM Entertainment had appointed a new CEO, Jang Cheol Hyuk, an influential figure within the company who was identified as a driving force behind SM 3.0,

Jang Cheol Hyuk | SM Entertainment

With new leaders in place, plans to further promote their artists established with their new multi-production system, and a goal to become a “fan-and shareholder-centered global entertainment leader,” fans were tentatively hopeful they would see positive changes in the management and quality of care given to SM Entertainment’s many talented artists.

SM Entertainment artists on stage at SMTOWN LIVE in Jakarta | The Korea Herald

While many netizens remain critical of SM Entertainment’s management of its artists and the quality of the company’s releases, there is one “betrayal” that disappointed fans worldwide, which was another promise the company made in early 2023 that ended up broken.

Last year, SM Entertainment held a free year-end online concert, SMTOWN LIVE 2023: SMCU PALACE @ KWANGYA, to allow fans to virtually ring in the New Year with the company’s top stars.

During the concert, SM Entertainment excitedly announced that the SM supergroup SuperM would be making a long-awaited comeback after including a teaser image that said, “SuperM will be coming in 2023.”

Following the teaser image, an official visual teaser was released, showing the group’s logo with seven lasers seemingly representing the project group’s seven members.

A viral tweet responding to a thread of the “biggest betrayals of 2023” named SuperM’s lack of a comeback as one of the year’s biggest “betrayals,” and over 8,500 people liked the post, proving the OP (original poster) wasn’t alone in their feelings on the matter.

pic.twitter.com/l1wO1s3NBT https://t.co/wcBhhJUEZ6

— rya ???? (@aespagem) December 27, 2023

SuperM fans turned to humor in their disappointment, sharing their relatable reactions to another year without the star-studded project group.

The SuperM cb they were talking about https://t.co/4wOIbcEFR7 pic.twitter.com/DUNWZFy5Et

— MeowTae! (@Meowtae_1of1) January 1, 2024

the superm twitter account has approximately 15 hours to do the funniest thing of all time

— sky (@wayvczn) December 31, 2023

superm debuted in LA so they still have 7.5 hours okay??

— cindy (@unravelingsky) January 1, 2024

Believe superm would come back https://t.co/qi9jvHRp4z

— (@dohsuhs) January 1, 2024

SuperM’s 2023 comeback wasn’t the only “lie” SM Entertainment told last year.

Check out more on that in the article below:

The Biggest “Lies” SM Entertainment’s SM 3.0 Promised, According To Fans