Anonymous SM Entertainment Employees Expose The Dire State Inside The Company

Employees of SM Entertainment (SM hereon) have put the company on blast for alleged mismanagement.

On April 10, KST, an online post compiling multiple employee testimonies criticizing the company’s current environment, went viral on Theqoo. The testimonies were taken from the BLIND app, a messaging forum used by verified company employees.

One employee wrote about the lack of employee welfare in SM, implying that the KWANGYA 119 website that the company set up to protect the rights and interests of its artists was highly ineffective. They also mentioned that the working conditions have declined since “ssaem” (presumably Lee Soo Man) left.

Our competitors set up in-house clinics for employees and at least pretend to protect the artists by taking steps quickly. Meanwhile, here they set up some nonsensical KWANGAYA 119 and kept saying, ‘We have forwarded it to the relevant department’…Ever since ssaem left, some four-eyes came in and started demanding higher sales, threatening to cut employees’ salaries if the sales were slow. I knew right away that they only cared about money.

— Employee post on BLIND

The employee also pointed out that multiple artists under the agency have recently been exposed to unpleasant situations, so much so that they either resorted to venting about it during livestreams or developed a chronic disease after being harassed by stalker fans. They also hinted at BoA’s current situation, saying that a director of the company, who was the reason why SM grew to today’s stature, hit a point where they quit all social media and announced their retirement after dealing with endless hate comments.

Finally, this first employee ended their post by revealing that even lower-ranking employees are now being doxxed and harassed on social media, while SM has shown no intention of handling the situation.

Another employee posted that their salary notification period was long over and they were working without knowing what their pay was. They also talked about being concerned about a particular “director,” which is presumably BoA, who, apart from being an idol, is also a creative director at SM.

A third employee post revealed that around 70 employees have allegedly left the company this month alone. Rumor has it that the number is expected to touch 80.

A fourth employee post criticized the CEO for sitting still while the company gets “messed up because of a few people.” They also implied that what the public is seeing on BLIND is only a glimpse of the actual chaos that’s unfurling at SM Entertainment.

These revelations have caused a whirlwind of reactions among netizens, who are shocked and concerned about the current state of this iconic K-Pop agency.

• “So ‘Get A Guitar’ was the last ray of hope?”
• “Please, pull yourself together.”
• “Since this was always a company set up by Lee Soo Man, it was expected that this would happen if the OB (old blood) left…”

• “If 70-80 people have resigned, then it must be a f*cking serious issue.”
• “To be honest, I don’t know about the internal workings of the company, but when Lee Soo Man was the CEO, the company almost never pressed charges. They respond to legal matters better now. At least they pretend to care.”
• “Lucas’s re-debut did feel a bit weird, but it looks like the company is not in a good state.”
• “What’s the use of pretending like everything is going well on the outside if the situation is like that internally? If there are that many employees quitting, I can already see how things will turn out in the future.”