Lee Sang-min (Profile, Facts, Debut, Marriage, and Mother) |

Learn More About Korea’s God of Music and Icon of Debt, Lee Sang-min

Lee Sang-min has had a turbulent life in the Korean entertainment industry. He once was considered one of Korea’s most talented singers and music producers. He started his music career with Roo’ra and later developed into a prodigious music producer by forming various popular idol groups and discovering outstanding singers and entertainers. In the late 90’s he was at the peak of the Korean music industry.

His music career took a downturn path after his disastrous business venture and infamous financial scandals. To make it worse, he also suffered from a failed marriage and plagiarism. He became indebted with an outrageous amount of money, accumulating more than 6 million USD of debt.

He restarted his life in the Korean entertainment industry by appearing in the TV variety show God of Music. He deliberately showed his debt to TV viewers and determination to pay back all of his debt. Due to his financial problem, he was dubbed as Korea’s Icon of debt. In this article, Byeol Korea will provide you with a run-through of everything about Korea’s Icon of Debt, Lee Sang-min. So, stay tuned and keep scrolling down this article.

Lee Sang-min’s profile

Name: Lee Sang-min
Date of Birth: February 3rd, 1973
Place of Birth: Seoul, Korea
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 62 kg
Management: Dmost Entertainment
Associated acts: Roo’ra
Occupation: Singer, songwriter, rapper, music producer, TV host, TV personality
Zodiac: Aquarius
Chinese Zodiac: The Year of the Ox
Instagram: sangmind32
Twitter: sangmind3232

Facts About Lee Sang-min

He lost his father at the age of four and was raised by his grandmother
He failed the university admission test at first try
He rented a training room for 300.000 KRW per month with Shin Jung-hwan after failing the university admission test
Lee Sang-min didn’t make enough money and barely survived by consuming instant noodles
At his second try, he was admitted to Seoul Institute of Arts, attended university for only two years and left to pursue a music career with Roo’ra

Lee Sang-min’s Debut With Roo-ra

Lee Sang-min debuted with the dance group Roo’ra by releasing their first studio album Roots of Reggae on July 1st, 1994. The leading track for the album was “Roots of Reggae.” At the time, Roo’ra was one of the most popular music groups. Roo’ra’s members were Lee Sang-min, Chae Ri-na, Shin Jung-hwan, Kim Ji-hyun, Mikey Romeo, and Ko Young-wook. Roo’ra’s second album, The Angel Who Lost Wings was released on March 28th, 1995, and managed to sell over 1 million copies.

Sadly, Roo’ra’s members were infamous for scandals such as illegal gambling and sexual harassment. Roo’ra itself was accused of plagiarism for copying melodies from Japanese group called Ninja. The plagiarism scandal hit the national headlines due to Korea’s and Japan’s tense relationship. Roo’ra disbanded in 2001 but reunited again for their last album in 2009.

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