Lee Soo-man rings ‘golden bell’ as rookie girl group takes first place ... picks up the tab for an entire barbecue restaurant

[Financial News] SM Entertainment founder and A2O Entertainment key producer Lee Soo-man paid the full bill for diners at a barbecue restaurant in Seoul. He rang what is known as a “golden bell” to celebrate the rookie girl group he produced taking first place on a music show.
On the 22nd, Eyes Magazine posted a video on its official social media account showing Lee Soo-man paying for diners’ meals at a barbecue restaurant near Yaksu Station in Jung-gu, Seoul.
In the video, Lee Soo-man told the diners at the restaurant, “Please help yourselves.”
The diners applauded and cheered, and shouts of “Lee Soo-man! Lee Soo-man!” rang out inside the restaurant. Lee Soo-man raised both arms and returned their cheers.
Lee Soo-man was reportedly said to have personally covered the food bill for everyone who visited the barbecue restaurant that day.
A diner who said they were there said they not only had their meal paid for but also received a bracelet as a gift. The diner posted on social media: “I just went to get a meal, and Mr. Lee Soo-man from SM treated me. I told him his bracelet was pretty, and he gave me one too. Amazing. I think it’ll become a family heirloom.”
The bill was reportedly paid to mark the music-show win by A2O LITE, the rookie girl group produced by Lee Soo-man.
According to Eyes Magazine, Lee Soo-man arranged the gathering to celebrate A2O LITE’s music-show win, following the successful conclusion of the “Sidae Forum” held on the 21st.
A2O LITE is a nine-member girl group under A2O Entertainment, which was founded by Lee Soo-man. The group began its activities on the 13th with the release of its debut track “NEON” (Nion).
“NEON” reached its highest position on Melon’s Top 100 chart about 29 hours after its release. On the 20th, the group won first place on a music show for the first time since its debut, on SBS Life’s The Show.
The group followed up with first-place wins on MBC M’s Show Champion on the 21st and Mnet’s M COUNTDOWN on the 22nd, earning three music-show wins just 10 days after its debut.


[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter