SM founder Lee Soo-man returns home with tech-driven double debut

Lee Soo-man unveiled 15-member boy group A2O Soul and nine-member girl group A2O Lite at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on Monday. The showcase marked his first Korean music project since his noncompete agreement with HYBE expired in February. The groups will debut digital singles Tuesday and share a fictional universe centered on the alien planet Soulite. Lee is applying his culture technology concept through 4D Gaussian Splatting and plans for an interactive live platform.

A2O Soul and A2O Lite will release the digital singles “Superstar” and “Neon,” respectively, at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Yoo Young-jin, whose production work includes music for aespa and NCT, oversees music and performance for both groups.

Lee founded SM Entertainment in 1995 and sold his 14.8 percent stake to HYBE in 2023 after a management dispute.

4D Gaussian Splatting combines footage from multiple cameras into a 3D space, allowing new camera movements to be created after filming.

Lee said he had pursued the multi-angle camera concept for 16 years and described culture technology as finding, experimenting with and implementing needed technology.

Published Oct 12, 2026 8:39 pm KST

Lee Soo-man, key producer of A2O Entertainment, speaks during “Welcome to Soulite From A2O Soul A2O Lite,” a global debut show for the agency’s new idol groups, at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Yonhap

Three years after a boardroom battle pushed him out of SM Entertainment, the company he founded, K-pop mogul Lee Soo-man unveiled two new idol groups on Monday in his first music project in Korea since his noncompete agreement with HYBE expired in February.

His Singapore-headquartered A2O Entertainment introduced 15-member boy group A2O Soul and nine-piece girl group A2O Lite at a joint showcase at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, where both groups performed live for the first time. Their digital singles, “Superstar” and “Neon,” come out at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The launch also uses an unusual format — two groups debuting at once, linked through a shared fictional universe centered on "Soulite," an alien planet.

K-pop girl group A2O Lite performs during “Welcome to Soulite From A2O Soul A2O Lite,” a global debut show for A2O Entertainment’s new idol groups, at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Yonhap

“The question I get asked most is what makes A2O different,” said Lee, who took the stage at the showcase. “As long as K-pop groups are classified as singers, what a singer needs most is a song. I wanted everything, from the song to the dance, music video, performance and concert, to be different from what came before.”

Being different alone is not enough, he added — the goal is for the groups to be loved.

Longtime collaborator Yoo Young-jin, the producer behind hits for aespa and NCT, oversees music and performance for both acts.

Lee founded SM in 1995 and built the K-pop training model behind acts from H.O.T. to Girls’ Generation and EXO. In 2023, he clashed with SM’s management and sold his 14.8 percent stake to HYBE, setting off a takeover battle between HYBE and Kakao that ended with HYBE's withdrawal.

The deal also barred Lee from producing music in Korea for three years.

Lee spent that period abroad, debuting A2O May, a girl group made up mainly of Chinese members, in 2024.

K-pop boy band A2O Soul performs during “Welcome to Soulite From A2O Soul A2O Lite,” a global debut show for A2O Entertainment’s new idol groups, at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Yonhap

Lee framed the new project around “culture technology” (CT), a concept he coined at SM.

He said it means more than adding technology to culture, and if the technology a piece of content needs does not exist, he asks whether it can be built.

“For me, CT means finding it, experimenting with it and putting it into practice myself,” he said.

The centerpiece was "4D Gaussian Splatting," which films a K-pop performance with numerous cameras from multiple angles and combines the data in a 3D space, so new camera movements can be created after filming ends. A2O Soul and Lite both used it for their upcoming music videos.

“It’s a shift from a camera that shoots to a camera that creates,” Lee said. He said he had pursued the idea for 16 years, since building a multi-angle camera system at SM for acts such as Girls’ Generation, SHINee and BoA.

Lee Soo-man, key producer of A2O Entertainment, speaks during a debut showcase for the agency’s boy group A2O Soul and girl group A2O Lite at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Yonhap

He also described the data as a record of people today that artificial intelligence-powered robots could one day learn from.

“What technological progress needs is not intelligence, but the wisdom to make decisions,” he said.

Lee also introduced plans to launch an interactive live platform in which fans and celebrities talk face to face in real time.

“Before trying to find what’s different, the best thing is to feel that it’s good,” Lee said.

周一，李秀满在京畿道高阳市的KINTEX会展中心揭晓了由15名成员组成的男子组合A2O Soul和由9名成员组成的女子组合A2O Lite。这是他自今年2月与HYBE的竞业禁止协议到期后推出的首个韩国音乐企划。两个组合将于周二发行数位单曲，并共同构建一个以外星Soulite为中心的虚构宇宙。李秀满将运用其4D高斯喷射技术打造文化科技概念，并计划推出一个互动式现场演出平台。

A2O Soul 和 A2O Lite 将于周二下午 6 点分别发行数字单曲《Superstar》和《Neon》。

Yoo Young-jin 曾为 aespa 和 NCT 制作音乐，他负责这两个组合的音乐和表演。

李在1995年创立了SM娱乐公司，并在2023年因管理纠纷将其持有的14.8%股份出售给了HYBE。

4D 高斯飞溅技术将多个摄像机的镜头组合成一个 3D 空间，从而可以在拍摄后创建新的摄像机运动。

李表示，他花了 16 年时间研究多角度摄像机的概念，并将文化技术描述为寻找、试验和实施所需的技术。

发布于2026年10月12日晚上8:39（韩国标准时间）

周一，A2O娱乐公司主要制作人李秀满在京畿道高阳市KINTEX会展中心举行的公司旗下新偶像组合“Welcome to Soulite From A2O Soul A2O Lite”全球出道秀上发表讲话。（韩联社）

在经历了一场董事会斗争，被迫离开他创立的SM娱乐公司三年后，韩国流行音乐大亨李秀满于周一推出了两个新的偶像组合，这是自他与HYBE的竞业禁止协议于2月份到期以来，他在韩国的第一个音乐项目。

他的新加坡公司A2O Entertainment在京畿道高阳市KINTEX举办联合发布会，推出了15人男子组合A2O Soul和9人女子组合A2O Lite，两个组合也首次进行了现场表演。他们的数位单曲《Superstar》和《Neon》将于周二下午6点发行。

此次发布会也采用了不同寻常的形式——两个组合同时出道，并通过一个以“灵魂星”（Soulite）为中心、共享的虚构宇宙联系在一起，而“灵魂星”是一个外星星球。

韩国女子组合A2O Lite周一在京畿道高阳市KINTEX举行的“Welcome to Soulite From A2O Soul A2O Lite”全球出道演唱会上表演，该演唱会是A2O娱乐公司旗下新偶像组合的全球出道演出。（韩联社）

“我被问到最多的问题是A2O的独特之处是什么，”李在发布会上登台时说道。“只要K-pop组合被归类为歌手，歌手最需要的就是歌曲。我希望从歌曲到舞蹈、MV、表演到演唱会，一切都与以往不同。”

他补充说，仅仅与众不同是不够的——目标是让这些团体受到喜爱。

长期合作伙伴、曾为 aespa 和 NCT 打造热门歌曲的制作人柳英镇 (Yoo Young-jin) 负责这两个组合的音乐和表演。

李敏镐于1995年创立SM娱乐公司，并打造了从HOT到少女时代和EXO等众多K-pop艺人的训练模式。2023年，他与SM公司管理层发生冲突，将自己持有的14.8%股份出售给了HYBE，引发了HYBE与Kakao之间的收购战，最终以HYBE退出而告终。

该协议还禁止李在三年内在韩国制作音乐。

李在这段时间里都在国外，并于 2024 年推出了主要由中国成员组成的女子组合 A2O May。

韩国男子组合A2O Soul周一在京畿道高阳市KINTEX举行的“Welcome to Soulite From A2O Soul A2O Lite”全球出道演唱会上表演，该演唱会是A2O娱乐公司旗下新偶像组合的全球出道演出。（韩联社）

李将新项目围绕“文化技术”（CT）展开，这是他在SM公司提出的一个概念。

他说，这不仅仅意味着将技术添加到文化中，如果某个内容所需的技术不存在，他会问是否可以构建它。

“对我来说，CT意味着找到它，尝试它，并亲自实践它，”他说。

核心技术是“4D高斯飞溅”，它使用多台摄像机从多个角度拍摄K-pop表演，并将数据整合到3D空间中，以便在拍摄结束后创建新的镜头运动。A2O Soul和Lite都在即将发布的音乐视频中使用了这项技术。

李说：“这标志着摄像机的功能从拍摄转变为创造。” 他表示，自16年前在SM娱乐公司为少女时代、SHINee和BoA等艺人搭建多角度摄像系统以来，他就一直在探索这个想法。

周一，A2O娱乐公司主要制作人李秀满在京畿道高阳市KINTEX会展中心举行的公司旗下男团A2O Soul和女团A2O Lite出道Showcase上发表讲话。（韩联社）

他还把这些数据描述为当今人们的记录，人工智能机器人将来有一天可以从中学习。

他说：“技术进步需要的不是智力，而是做出决策的智慧。”

李还介绍了推出互动直播平台的计划，该平台可以让粉丝和明星实时面对面交流。

李说：“在试图找出不同之处之前，最好的做法是先感受到它的好处。”