ENTERTAINMENT
British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden visits SM headquarters
About 10 members of the British visiting delegation, including British Deputy Prime Minister Dowden, British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks, and Deputy Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Edward de Minckwitz, visited SM headquarters on the afternoon of the 19th and met with SM CEO Jang Cheol-hyuk and Choi Jeong-min. I met with key executives, including the Chief Global Officer (CGO).
Deputy Prime Minister Dowden has a great interest in the culture and entertainment industry, having previously served as Minister of Digital Culture, Media and Sports, and it is known that his two children are actually K-pop fans. For this reason, during his visit to Korea, he requested a visit from SM, the leader in K-POP, through the British Council in Korea, and this meeting took place.
On this day, Deputy Prime Minister Dowden and his party inspected studio centers such as SM's content production studio and artist house, visited the songwriting camp where domestic and foreign composers and lyricists gather to work, and observed the recording booth and mixing room. In particular, Prime Minister Dowden showed great interest as he toured the studio, recording room, and mixing room one after another, and while listening to the sound before and after correction, he said, "As expected, they are professional artists, so I can feel that they are already good at singing even before correction."
SM CEO Jang Cheol-hyuk said, “SM and British entertainment company MOON&BACK are preparing to launch a British boy group that will be active in the global market together. When told about the joint project with the UK, Deputy Prime Minister Dowden expressed high interest and expectations, saying, “I hope that the British boy group, which is receiving systematic training from SM, will prepare well and achieve great success in the global market.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Dowden, a close associate of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, visited Korea to attend the '3rd Democracy Summit' held in Seoul on the 18th. Deputy Prime Minister Dowden started out as a member of the Conservative Party in 2015 and served as Under-Secretary-General of the British Cabinet Office, Director of the Treasury Department at the Treasury, Minister of Digital Culture, Media and Sports, and Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination. He was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Cabinet Office in April last year.
Reporter Junho Yoon, Ten Asia delo410@tenasia.co.kr
