SM Life Design Group (Korean: 에스엠라이프디자인그룹) is a South Korean printing, content distribution, and production company under SM Studios, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SM Entertainment. It was originally founded in 1998 as KD Media (케이디미디어) and was acquired by FNC Entertainment, renamed to FNC Add Culture in 2016.

SM Life Design Group Co., Ltd.
SM Life Design
Native name
에스엠라이프디자인그룹
Formerly
  • KD Media (1998–2016)
  • FNC Add Culture (2016–2018)
Company typePublic
KRX: 063440
Industry
FoundedDecember 29, 1998; 25 years ago (1998-12-29)
Headquarters376, Jikji-gil, ,
South Korea
Key people
Tak Young-jun (CEO)
OwnerSM Entertainment (29.30%)[1]
ParentSM Studios
Websitesmlifedesign.com

History

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1998–2018: Establishment and acquisition by FNC Entertainment

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Originally known as KD Media, it was established in December 1998 as a spin-off of the lottery business of the publishing division of Seoul Shinmun, as it was formerly a company specialized in the printing and supplying markets. In April 2000, the company launched its video business division and has grown into one of the top three major DVD publishing companies in South Korea in three years. It had also established a one-stop system such as planning, purchasing copyrights, production, and distribution in relation to DVD business. The division had its first sales in August, earning 690 million won through distribution of its first film.[2]

On July 8, 2016 FNC acquired KD Media from NZKD One Investment Group and changed the company name to FNC Add Culture.[3][4] In May 2017, the company acquired drama production company Film Boutique to strengthen its competitiveness in drama production.[5] On January 15 2018 FNC Add Culture announced that it had acquired variety show production company Genie Pictures known to be behind many popular shows like Weekly Idol and Mr. House Husband.[6] SM would later transfer the production company back to FNC as FNC Productions in May.[7]

2018–present: Acquisition by SM Entertainment and restructuring

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SM Entertainment announced on the March 14, 2018 that it had acquired actor management company KeyEast and FNC Add Culture, a subsidiary of FNC Entertainment.[8] By May 18, SM secured a 31 percent stake in FNC Add Culture and changed its name to SM Life Design Group at the same time as it completed its acquisition process, with FNC becoming the second-largest shareholder with an 18 percent stake.[9] Ahn Seok-joon, who also served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of FNC, will support the business alliance linking FNC and SM based on his experience as a management advisor of SM Life Design Group.[10] Through SM Life Design Group, FNC and SM have established a strategic alliance and expected to complete a "powerful" lineup by creating various business synergies in the domestic entertainment industry.[11] In addition, FNC acquired FNC Production, an entertainment production subsidiary of SM Life Design Group, and plans to continue the partnership with the media production business and its artists to carry out the drama production business.[12] At the end of March 2020, Shin Sung-bok, a business planning operator who previously worked for Samsung Life Insurance, Bokwang Investment, ISU Venture Capital, and M-Venture Investment, was appointed as the new CEO of SM Life Design group. In the industry, Shin is said to have reorganized SM Life Design Group's existing business divisions.[13]

On January 10, 2022, SM Life Design announced that the company held a shareholders' meeting to appoint Tak Young-jun, a chief marketing officer (CMO) of SM Entertainment,[a] was appointed as an inside director in the company and took the position of CEO through a resolution of the board of directors. Former CEO Shin resigned as the company's inside director and CEO on the same day of the announcement. Additionally, the company appointed chief financial officer (CFO) Nam Hwa-min as its new inside director in addition to Tak.[15] As SM Entertainment's subsidiaries have divided roles into drama content production, such as KeyEast, and food service and subsidiary businesses, such as SM Life Design Group, the company's drama business was suspended, and its incorporation with Film Boutique was sold. With its restructuring of the business sector and suspension of drama production, SM Life Design Group instead acquired a 100% stake in Beacon Holdings, Tomatillo Korea, and MOA L&B International.[16]

Subsidiaries

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  • MOA L&B International (2019)
  • Beacon Holdings (2019)

Production works

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List of production works showing the year, title, and network
Year Title Network Ref.
2015 Who Are You: School 2015 KBS2 [17]
2016 Click Your Heart MBC Every 1 [18]
Becky's Back KBS2 [19]
2017 Band of Sisters SBS TV [20]
My Only Love Song Netflix [21]
Sweet Enemy SBS TV [22]
Girls' Generation 1979 KBS2 [23]
2018–2019 The Last Empress SBS TV [24]
2019 Love As You Taste Olleh TV [25]

People

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All names listed are adapted from SM Life Design Group's drama business page of its official website.[26]

Director

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Screenwriters

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Notes

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  1. ^ Despite being labeled as CMO in most news articles, Tak Young-jun is considered and called the chief operating officer (COO) of SM Entertainment.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "SM LIFE DESIGN GROUP CO., LTD. (A063440)". MarketScreener.
  2. ^ Lee, Ki-hyung (September 8, 2003). [종목발굴]KD미디어, 복권독점..DVD "날개" [[Discovering the Game] KD Media, Lottery Exclusive..DVD "Wings"]. Money Today [ko] (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021 – via Naver.
  3. ^ Kim, Su-jung (May 24, 2016). 케이디미디어, 다음달 임시 주주총회 개최 [KD Media, To Hold an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders Next Month]. News Way (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  4. ^ Lee, Ji-sook (June 8, 2016). 케이디미디어, 최대주주 FNC엔터 외 7명으로 변경 [KD Media, The Largest Shareholder FNC Entertainment and 7 others]. Prime Economy (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  5. ^ "FNC Add Culture Acquires Film Boutique… "Strengthening Drama Production Capabilities"". Yonhap News.
  6. ^ "FNC애드컬쳐, '뭉뜬' '주간아' 제작사 인수...`전방위 제작역량 강화`". 스타투데이 (in Korean). 2018-01-15. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
  7. ^ "FNC-SM 전략적 제휴, ㈜에스엠라이프디자인그룹 사명 변경 [공식]". 스포츠동아 (in Korean). 2018-05-18. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
  8. ^ Kim, Mi-ji (March 14, 2018). [엑's 초점] SM, 키이스트·FNC애드컬쳐 인수…'역대급' 가수·배우·MC라인 구축 [[X's Focus] SM, KeyEast·FNC Add Culture Acquisition…Establishing 'Greatest-ever' Singer·Actor·MC Line]. Xports News (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  9. ^ Kong, Do-yoon (May 18, 2018). "에스엠·에프엔씨 만나 '에스엠라이프디자인그룹' 탄생" [SM·FNC Met and Created 'SM Life Design Group']. Paxnet News (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  10. ^ Kim, Eun-ae (May 18, 2018). SM, FNC애드컬쳐 인수작업 완료..SM라이프디자인그룹으로 변경 [SM, FNC Add Culture Acquisition Completed..Changed to SM Life Design Group]. OSEN [ko] (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  11. ^ Lee, A-young (May 18, 2018). SM, FNC애드컬쳐 인수 완료…SM라이프디자인그룹으로 사명 변경 [SM, FNC Add Culture Acceptance Completed...Renamed to SM Life Design Group]. Xports News (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  12. ^ Lee, Seul-bi (May 18, 2018). FNC-SM 전략적 제휴, ㈜에스엠라이프디자인그룹 사명 변경 [FNC-SM Strategic Alliance, Renaming to SM Life Design Group]. Sports Donga (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  13. ^ Cho, Young-gap (April 14, 2020). SM엔터, '키이스트·SM라이프' 드라마사업 교통정리 [SM Entertainment, 'KeyEast·SM Life' Drama Business Traffic Control]. The Bell (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  14. ^ "IR – Board of Directors". SM Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  15. ^ Chae, Sung-oh (January 10, 2022). [오~컬쳐]탁영준 SM엔터 공동 대표, 'SM life design'도 이끈다 [[O~Culture] 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 22, 2022.
  16. ^ Cho, Young-gap (April 14, 2020). [영상콘텐츠업 리포트]SM엔터, '키이스트·SM라이프' 드라마사업 교통정리 [[Video Content Industry Report] SM Entertainment, 'KeyEast and SM Life' Drama Business Traffic Management]. The Bell (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  17. ^ Kim, So-yeon (April 27, 2017). YG까지 합류, SM·JYP·YG 3사 모두 드라마 제작 착수 [YG Joined, SM·JYP·YG All 3 Started Producing Dramas]. 비즈엔터 (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 27, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  18. ^ Choi, Doo-sun (October 13, 2016). FNC애드컬쳐, 드라마 '마이 온리 러브송' 28억 규모 中 공급계약 [FNC Add Culture, To Supply 2.8 Billion Won Worth of Drama 'My Only Love Song']. Biz Entertainment (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  19. ^ Yoo, Eun-young (May 29, 2017). [이슈S] 공격적으로 몸집 키우는 FNC애드컬쳐 [[Issue S] Aggressive FNC Add Culture to Grow Big]. SPOTV News (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  20. ^ Kim, Joo-ae (February 15, 2017). '언니는 살아있다' 측 "조보아, 출연 확정 NO…후보 중 한 명" ['Band of Sisters' Side "Jo Bo-ah, Confirmed to Appear NO…One of the Candidates"]. Xports News (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  21. ^ Lee, Min-ji (September 20, 2016). 이종현-공승연 '우결' 하차 1년만 드라마서 재회 [Lee Jong-hyun-Gong Seung-yeon were Reunited in the Drama for Only 1 Year After Dropping Out of 'We Got Married']. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  22. ^ Kim, Na-young (May 15, 2017). 이보희×김희정, SBS '달콤한 원수' 출연 확정 [Lee Bo-hee x Kim Hee-jung, Confirmed to Appear on SBS's 'Sweet Enemy']. Sports Today (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  23. ^ Lee, Jung-hyuk (August 9, 2017). [엔터비즈]FNC애드컬쳐, 올 상반기 전년 동기대비 매출액 162%, 영업이익 234% 상승 [[Entertainment Biz] FNC Add Culture, Saw Its Sales Rise of 162% Year-on-year, Operating Profit Rise of 234% in the First Half of This Year]. Sports Chosun (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  24. ^ Ko, Seung-ah (October 16, 2018). "'황후의 품격' 장나라-최진혁-신성록-신은경-이엘리야, 열정 충만 첫 대본리딩" '황후의 품격' 장나라-최진혁-신성록-신은경-이엘리야, 열정 충만 첫 대본리딩 ['The Last Empress' Jang Na-ra-Choi Jin-hyuk-Shin Sung-rok-Shin Eun-kyung-Lee Elijah, First Script Reading Full of Passion]. Herald Pop (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  25. ^ Kwon, Joon-woo (June 2, 2019). [U~스타트업] 100만원 투자 웹드라마제작소 '밤부네트워크' 업계 5위 점프 [[U~Startup] Jump to 5th Place in 'Bamboo Network', A Web Drama Production Company with an Investment of 1 Million Won]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  26. ^ 에스엠라이프디자인그룹 – 드라마사업 [SM Life Design Group – Drama Business] (in Korean). SM Life Design Group. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
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