Why Judges and Lawyers Went to the Game Board

Regulatory Risk Management and Aggressive M&A Preparations
Growing Role of Legal Professionals Leads to Continuous 'Love Calls'

The gaming industry is rushing to appoint executives with legal backgrounds. This move is analyzed as a strategic measure to manage chronic ‘regulatory risks’ such as rating classifications and probability-based items, while also securing growth momentum through aggressive mergers and acquisitions.

[Photo by Beopryul Newspaper]

The representative gaming company Netmarble is about to appoint a CEO with a legal background.

On the 3rd, Netmarble announced the promotion of Kim Byung-kyu (50, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 38), an executive in charge of business planning (Vice President), as the new co-CEO. The appointment process will be finalized after approval at the shareholders’ meeting in March.

Vice President Kim graduated from Yeongdong High School in Seoul and Seoul National University’s Law School, passing the 47th Judicial Examination in 2005. After working at the law firm SeoJeong and serving as a team leader in the legal team at Samsung C&T, he joined Netmarble in 2015, holding positions such as head of business policy and managing director of business policy. He later served as Vice President and Chief Risk Officer (CRO) at Jarvis & Villains, a tax-related startup. He returned to Netmarble in 2022 to serve as the overall management leader in planning and legal affairs. He has demonstrated outstanding abilities in strategic planning, legal, and policy fields and is known as a trusted man of Chairman Bang Jun-hyuk and CEO Kwon Young-sik.

NCSoft recruited Park Byung-moo (63, class 15) CEO of VIG Partners as a co-CEO candidate on the 11th of last month. This decision highly values Park’s capabilities in management, strategy, and investment. He will soon be appointed CEO after board and shareholders’ meetings.

Park, regarded as a ‘genius’ even among the legal elite, ranked first overall upon entering Seoul National University Law School and passed the 24th Judicial Examination in 1982 during his third year of university. He worked at Kim & Chang law firm, served as CEO of Locus Holdings (Plenus Entertainment), Newbridge Capital, and Hanaro Telecom. In 2010, he was appointed co-CEO of Bogofund and has led VIG Partners since 2014.

At LINE Games, CEO Park Sung-min (41, class 39) is at the helm. A former judge, Park left the bench in February 2022 and joined LINE Games the same year. After serving as head of risk management, he was appointed CEO in February last year. Since taking office, he has demonstrated his risk management skills by implementing rigorous restructuring, including recommending voluntary resignations of subsidiary employees. Park has also concurrently served as CEO of Needs Games since August last year.

Kim Jung-seop (62, class 30), former CEO of SundayToz (now Wemade Play), known for the game ‘Anipang,’ was another legal professional in the gaming industry. Kim completed the Judicial Research and Training Institute in 2001 and worked as a lawyer in the M&A team at Choheung Bank, CEO of MVP Partners, and lawyer at law firms Jeongpyeong and JP. From 2014, he served as auditor, outside director, and audit committee chairman at SundayToz, then as executive director of investment strategy at Smilegate Holdings from 2017, before becoming CEO of SundayToz the following year. He resigned in February 2022.

More gaming companies are appointing legal professionals to key positions.

Last year, NCSoft hired Kim Haemajung (47, class 32) from Kim & Chang law firm as global head of risk management (executive director). Lee Hong-woo (48, class 38), former head of legal affairs at Nexon Korea, was appointed head of business support at NXC in 2019. He served as COO of NXC and currently holds an auditor position.

Probability-based Items, IP, M&A... ‘Love Calls’ Toward Legal Professionals

Why is the gaming industry seeking talent with legal backgrounds? Industry experts analyze that it relates to the nature of the gaming market, which suffers from chronic regulatory risks. Indeed, government regulations on the gaming industry run deep. Regulations triggered by the ‘Shutdown Law’ limiting youth internet game usage have recently expanded to include ‘probability-based item regulations.’

On the 3rd, the Fair Trade Commission imposed a fine of 11.6 billion KRW on Nexon Korea for adjusting paid item probabilities. Starting in March, the amended ‘Game Industry Promotion Act’ will mandate disclosure of information related to probability-based items. Consequently, legal professionals who can respond to government regulations and make strategic decisions based on law have become highly valuable.

The increase in intellectual property (IP) disputes surrounding games has also had an impact.

Min In-gi (50, class 32), head of the Entertainment & Sports team at law firm Bae, Kim & Lee, said, “Due to the nature of the gaming industry, where copyright disputes over characters and game designs and disputes over trade secret leaks continue, the role of legal professionals is growing.” There is also analysis that as gaming companies ramp up M&A activities, the need for legal experts has increased.

NCSoft, holding about 2 trillion KRW in cash assets, plans meaningful M&A deals to expand its IP. It is analyzed that this is why they appointed Park, who has achieved significant results in M&A, as a co-CEO candidate. SundayToz, led by CEO Kim Jung-seop, was acquired by game developer Wemade in December 2021 and subsequently renamed Wemade Play.

Soojung Hong, Legal Times Reporter

※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.

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