Lee Sooman, key producer at A2O Entertainment, said that he knows people are worried about the 13- and 14-year-old members in his new idol groups, and promised to handle it well.
On October 21, Lee Sooman gave a keynote on human creativity and the future of K-culture at a forum titled “K-Culture × Tech: The Path to Sustainable Growth,” held at the Sebitseom Convention Center in Seoul.
Lee Sooman first pointed to what set A2O’s launch apart: two groups at once, boy group A2O SOUL and girl group A2O LITE, noting, “My staff found it very hard.” Regarding the members’ ages, he said:
“There are 13-year-olds and 14-year-olds among the members. I know many people are worried. I’m not losing sleep over it, but I think about it a lot. I’ll do well.”
For context, A2O LITE’s three youngest members (Ayune, OA and Aijing) were born in 2013, and A2O SOUL’s four youngest members are 14.
This is also Lee Sooman’s first domestic debut project in years. He sold his 14.8% SM stake to HYBE in February 2023, and a non-compete clause limited him to overseas work until the end of February 2026.
The groups debuted on October 13 with digital singles 'Superstar' (SOUL) and 'Neon' (LITE). 'Neon' topped Melon’s Top 100, a major Korean streaming chart, the next day.
On Theqoo, a Korean online community, reactions to his remarks fell into three groups.
Some focused on the members’ age. One user wrote, “Honestly, 13 is too young to debut,” while another said, “If he’d do well, he’d send them to school instead.”
Others doubted the promise itself, pointing out, “Knowing people are worried means he knows it’s a problem.” Meanwhile, some netizens also praised the members, saying, “The kids are so good, he couldn’t help debuting them.”
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Meanwhile, Lee Sooman went from singer and TV personality to founder of SM Entertainment. After leaving SM in 2023, he set up Singapore-based A2O Entertainment, whose name stands for 'Alpha to Omega,' and introduced girl group A2O MAY in 2024.
