The name of Lee Soo Man, founder of one of the most influential K-pop agencies in the industry, appeared on the mega-leak Pandora Papers revealed on October 3 according to the Korean media Newstapa, the producer would be associated with companies based in Hong Kong, a tax haven.
Lee responded to the report with a statement through SM Entertainment, where he denies the tax evasion allegations. Newstapa, an independent Korean outlet, collaborated with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) to explore the leak dubbed ‘the Pandora Papers’.
The Pandora Papers cover more than 11.9 million documents from 14 law firms specialized in the creation of offshore companies. More than 600 journalists from 117 countries worked together on the publication led by the ICIJ.
According to Newstapa, Lee Soo Man’s name was mentioned 399 times in 280 documents. The producer would be connected to eight companies established in Hong Kong, but five of these would have used a service to hide the origin of their funds. The outlet maintains that Lee was discovered as the “beneficial owner” of these companies.
.
In addition, the founder of SM Entertainment would have bought a villa in Malibu California with one of these firms (Polex Development). Newstapa slides that the purpose would have been to circumvent restrictions on foreign real estate investment.
S.M Entertainment released a statement in response.
Quoted by The Korea Herald, the document denies that Lee Soo Man engaged in illegal procedures or tax evasion and notes that both Lee Soo Man and SM Entertainment are planning a lawsuit against Newstapa over the broadcast report.
“The Hong Kong companies, which the report said were operated and established with Lee’s hidden investments, were actually founded by James Heejae Lee, the father of executive producer Lee Soo Man,” argued S.M. “At that time, James Lee transferred his funds earned in Korea with a legal method and we have provided the documentation to reporters.”
