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Tak Young-jun (Korean: 탁영준; also spelled Tak Young-joon; born January 17, 1978) is a South Korean business executive and the current COO and co-CEO of SM Entertainment. He serves as the CEO of SM Life Design Group and as a representative director of SM Entertainment Japan. Tak began working for SM in 2001 and was previously employed as the head of the singer management office, management office, and performance directing team. He was formerly a manager of Shinhwa and Super Junior, and is currently the director of SM's new boy group Riize.

Life and career

Born in January 17, 1978, Tak Young-jun was a 1997 graduate of Dongguk University's Department of Political Science and Diplomacy and joined SM Entertainment in 2001 after being discharged from the military. He revealed that although his company employment has nothing to do with his major, entertainment was a field that kept drawing his attention. Tak worried about whether to live as a regular office worker or follow the path he wanted to go as he revealed that it was a field where he could work "more passionately and live a life that's not a waste." The local music industry was reportedly at its "peak" when he joined the company. It was when Shinhwa and G.o.d took over the prime spot of H.O.T. and Sechs Kies, and BoA first entered Japan.

After joining SM, Tak commenced learning work as a manager of Shinhwa. Tak was also an exclusive manager of Super Junior and was in charge of their management even before their debut. Six managers worked with Exo from three teams under Tak, the head of the singer management office at SM's management headquarters. He watched the artist carry on with their schedules and took care of various issues, such as the schedule to be accomplished afterward. Tak was also the head of SM's management office and performance directing team, and participated in the debut albums of Shinee, f(x), and Exo and managed Girls' Generation after "Genie" (2009) . Tak was the first to introduce a multi-member group unit system, introducing Super Junior's sub-units Super Junior-K.R.Y., a ballad group, and Super Junior-T, a trot group.

With Label SJ previously entering its second year of establishment, the address of the headquarters and the management have not been accurately revealed. Tak, manager-in-charge of Super Junior from debut to their sixth Korean studio album Sexy, Free & Single , has been producing the group's albums, along with Yesung's first extended play (EP), Here I Am. On March 10, 2020, SM announced through a board meeting that Tak, as the chief marketing officer (CMO), along with Lee Sung-soo, as the chief executive officer (CEO), was appointed as co-CEOs of the company. On April 9, 2021, Tak was among the 13 committee members appointed in the culture and arts field by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of the 5th advisory committee while also being part of 11 members assigned to the 6th advisory committee. On January 10, 2022, SM Life Design Group held a shareholders' meeting to appoint Tak as its new CEO from his former position of inside director, with former inside director and CEO Shin Sung-bok resigning from the company. On February 3, 2023, it was announced that Tak was appointed as the director for SM's upcoming boy group project, Riize.

Tak and co-CEO Lee became involved in a conflict over SM's management rights with founder Lee Soo-man in early 2023. They announced plans to restructure the company, cutting out Lee Soo-man to appease shareholders, who had revolted over his high producing fees. In retaliation, Lee Soo-man sold his shares in the company to Hybe Corporation, making them the largest shareholder. Tak and Lee attempted to secure SM's independence from Hybe by seeking help from technology company Kakao. Hybe dropped out of the takeover battle on March 12, relinquishing control of SM's management rights to Kakao. Tak stepped down from his position as co-CEO and from the board of directors on March 31. He remained in his position as COO and led the IP Committee following SM's reorganisation. In March 2024, Tak was reappointed co-CEO of SM Entertainment and returned to the board of directors.

Interviews

• Tak Young-jun, Head of SM Entertainment's Singer Management Office, Segye Ilbo, 2013
• In the Age of K-pop 3.0, We Must Live by 'Economies of Scale', Hankook Ilbo, 2016

Accolades

Tak was on the list of Billboard's 2022 Indie Power Players, along with Lee Sung-soo. He was also included on Billboard's list of International Power Players in 2022 and 2023.

Notes

1. Despite being labeled as CMO in most news articles, Tak Young-jun is considered and called the chief operating officer (COO) of SM, as per its official 2021 SM Entertainment Sustainable Management Report.

References

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7. Kim, Gun-woo; Oh, Jung-eun (March 27, 2012). 에스엠, 스톡옵션 풀렸다 "임직원 2400% 대박" [SM, Stock Option has Been Lifted "2,400% of executives and employees are amazing"]. Money Today (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
8. Park, Kyung-eun (September 23, 2014). 유통기한 통념 깬 '슈퍼 아이돌'… 데뷔 10년 슈퍼주니어, 월드투어 100회… 개인보다 팀에 중점이 비결 ['Super Idol' that Broke the Conventional Notion of Expiration Date… Super Junior's 10th Debut Anniversary, 100th World Tour… The Key is to Focus on the Team Rather than on the Individual]. Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
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13. Jo, Eun-byul (July 6, 2021). [비바100] 젊어진 엔터업계… '건축학개론' 세대 리더십 돋보여 [ Young Entertainment Industry… The Leadership of the 'Architecture Introduction' Generation Stands Out]. Bridge Economy (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 6, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
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18. Kim, Dong-hyun (April 9, 2021). 인순이 등 외교부 문화외교자문위원 13명 위촉 [13 Members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Culture and Diplomacy Advisory Committee, Including Insooni, Were Appointed]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
19. Lee, Hong-gap (December 14, 2022). 외교부, 박세리 · 송승환 · 마크 테토 등 문화외교 자문위원 위촉 [Appointment of Cultural and Diplomatic Advisors such as Pak Se-ri, Song Seung-hwan, and Mark Tetto, Etc.]. SBS News (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
20. Chae, Sung-oh (January 10, 2022). [오~컬쳐]탁영준 SM엔터 공동 대표, 'SM life design'도 이끈다 [ Tak Young-jun, Co-CEO of SM Entertainment, Will also lead 'SM life design']. Bloter (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
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25. Lee, Eun-young (April 14, 2023). [단독] 백의종군 한다던 SM 이성수 전 대표, C레벨 복귀 [ Former CEO Lee Sung-soo of SM, who was said to be Baek Ui-jong, returns to C level]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved April 27, 2023.
26. Peoples, Glenn (March 27, 2024). "SM Entertainment Names Tak Young-jun Co-CEO". Billboard. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
27. Shim, Jae-gul (March 3, 2016). [대담] K팝 3.0 시대, '규모의 경제'로 가야 산다 [ In the Age of K-pop 3.0, We Must Live by 'Economies of Scale']. Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
28. "Revealed: 2022 Indie Power Players". Billboard. June 6, 2022. Archived from the original on June 6, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
29. "Revealed: Billboard's 2022 International Power Players". Billboard. April 25, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
30. Duffy, Thom (April 25, 2023). "Billboard's 2023 International Power Players Revealed". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2023.

• 1978 births
• Living people
• Dongguk University alumni
• South Korean chief executives
• South Korean music industry executives
• South Korean music managers
• SM Entertainment people