(Bloomberg) -- Kim Jung-ju, the billionaire founder of Korean online game developer Nexon Co. who contributed to establishing one of the world's hottest gaming hubs, has died. He was 54.
Kim had received treatment for depression and recently his condition seemed to worsen, NXC Corp., his private investment firm, said in a statement Tuesday, without giving a cause of death. It said he died at the “end of last month” in the U.S.
Kim, who majored in computer science and engineering at Seoul National University, founded Nexon in South Korea in 1994 and pioneered the free-to-play model, in which users can choose to pay real-world money to enhance their game-play experience. Nexon's PC and video games are played by millions of people globally, especially massively multiplayer online role-playing games -- also known as MMORPGs.
Nexon became famous for hit titles such as MapleStory and KartRider. Through NXC, Kim controlled 47% of Nexon, which listed in Japan in 2011.
He was worth $7.7 billion, excluding shares pledged as collateral, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Last year, Nexon reported revenue of 274.5 billion yen ($2.4 billion).
Crypto Assets
In recent years, his company stepped up investing in crypto currencies and digital-asset exchanges. NXC bought local crypto exchange Korbit in 2017 and purchased Europe-based digital-asset exchange Bitstamp in 2018.
Nexon joined a growing list of companies directly investing in crypto with the acquisition of 1,717 Bitcoins in April last year, at an average price of about $58,226 each.
In 2019, Kim considered selling his stake in the company he held through NXC, triggering discussions with major firms including Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Hillhouse Capital. He scrapped the plan when he couldn't find a suitable buyer.
Kim stepped back from running NXC last year and remained a director at the company.
Saudi Fund
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, bought a 5% stake in Nexon in January as part of investments in gaming firms.
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Kim was born on Feb. 22, 1968 in Seoul, where he went to school, according to the company.
He's survived by his wife, Yoo Junghyun, who also owns shares in Nexon directly and through NXC. Local media says he has two daughters. The company said Kim's family members were “devastated.”
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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