Kim Taek-jin "Expanding Global Presence... Transparently Managing Probability-Based Items" (Comprehensive)

Kim Taek-jin, CEO of NCSoft

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Kim Taek-jin, CEO of NCSoft, stated on the 25th, "We will grow into a global comprehensive game company loved by customers worldwide, transcending platform boundaries."

At the shareholders' meeting held that morning at NCSoft's headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, CEO Kim said, "NCSoft is preparing for greater growth this year." He was reappointed as an inside director on the same day. His term lasts until March 2024.

NCSoft Targets Global Markets This Year

CEO Kim explained, "Domestically, we plan to expand our customer base through Blade and Soul 2, Trickster M, and Pro Baseball H3, while internationally, we will strengthen our position in the global market through Lineage 2M." NCSoft officially launched Lineage 2M in the Taiwanese and Japanese markets the day before.

He evaluated, "Last year, not only mobile games but also PC games pursued various attempts and changes, showing continuous development." NCSoft achieved record-high performance last year. NCSoft's revenue last year was 2.4162 trillion KRW, a 42% increase from the previous year, and operating profit was 824.8 billion KRW, up 72%.

He added, "We will continue to secure various core competencies steadily and are also developing games for next-generation platforms from a long-term perspective."

CEO Kim also emphasized the 'responsible management system' that day. NCSoft was the first domestic game company to establish an ESG Management Committee. He said, "We will actively review policies that can further enhance the independence of the board of directors and improve corporate governance healthily."

Probability-Based Item Controversy Remains a Challenge

However, issues such as future dependence on the Lineage intellectual property (IP) and controversies over probability-based items (loot boxes) remain challenges for CEO Kim to resolve. As of last year, over 80% of NCSoft's revenue came from Lineage IP, including Lineage M and Lineage 2M. User dissatisfaction with probability-based items, which have lottery-level odds within Lineage, continues to accumulate.

Questions about probability-based items also arose at the shareholders' meeting. Professor Wi Jeong-hyun of Chung-Ang University, president of the Korea Game Society, asked the company’s stance on the low probabilities of these items and the recent controversies surrounding them.

In response, CEO Kim explained, "We disclose information within the range we believe is necessary for customers." Regarding criticisms that the probabilities are excessively low, he added, "We have operated transparently through internal verification and will continue to do so."

Meanwhile, at the shareholders' meeting, NCSoft appointed Hwang Chan-hyun, co-CEO of the law firm Class, as an outside director and audit committee member. Additionally, the maximum limit for director compensation was decided to remain at 20 billion KRW, the same as last year. NCSoft finalized the dividend per share at 8,550 KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.