This article was published on July 30, 2025, at 10:26 a.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
S2 Entertainment, the agency of the girl group 'KISS OF LIFE,' which completed its world tour in just two years since its debut, has secured an investment worth 5 billion won. KISS OF LIFE has been gaining popularity, especially after generating buzz at last summer's festival 'Water Bomb.'
On the 30th, according to the investment banking (IB) industry, S2 Entertainment recently raised a total of 5 billion won in investments from Korea Investment Partners and Union Investment Partners, as well as Future Play. Korea Investment Partners and Union Investment Partners each invested 2 billion won, while Future Play invested 1 billion won as a follow-up investment after the seed investment.
It is rare for small entertainment agencies, outside of the four major agencies (SME, YG Entertainment, JYP, HYBE), to attract investment from the venture industry. This is largely due to concerns that idols from smaller agencies find it difficult to compete against those from larger agencies, which have a capital advantage.
Despite these concerns, S2 Entertainment successfully secured this investment. This is attributed to strong objective indicators that are linked not only to buzz but also to profitability. The company is seen as having met investor expectations in terms of YouTube views, album sales, and music streaming rankings.
KISS OF LIFE's new song 'Sticky,' released last year, recorded 57 million views on YouTube. They successfully completed a global tour in their second year since debuting. Earlier this year, they won the 'Next Generation Award' at the 39th Golden Disc Awards and claimed two awards at the AAA 2024 held in Bangkok last year.
The initial sales of KISS OF LIFE's third mini album, released last October, surpassed 90,000 copies within the first week after its release. This figure is about a 30% increase compared to the previous album. Their debut album exceeded a cumulative streaming count of 10 million on Spotify.
With this investment, S2 Entertainment plans to ramp up KISS OF LIFE's global activities. Along with this, they intend to accelerate the development of new artists, expand content intellectual property (IP), and strengthen brand collaborations.
Hong Tae-Hwa, the CEO of S2 Entertainment, noted, 'This investment showcases the market's strong confidence in the company's vision and growth potential,' adding, 'We aim to create content and artists that can succeed not just in K-pop but in the global music industry.'
Kim Hee-Jin, the lead team member at Korea Investment Partners, stated, 'This investment came as a result of valuing S2 Entertainment's unique content planning capabilities and KISS OF LIFE's growth potential,' and she noted, 'Their ability to differentiate their musicality and build a global fandom was impressive.'
S2 Entertainment is an agency founded by Hong Tae-Hwa in 2020. He established JYP Entertainment with singer Park Jin-Young in 2001, and after leaving the company in 2008, he founded CUBE Entertainment, nurturing famous idol groups such as 4Minute, BEAST, BTOB, CLC, Pentagon, and (G)I-DLE. S2 Entertainment reported a revenue of 13 billion won and an operating loss of 1 billion won last year.