Major game companies in South Korea held shareholders’ meetings on March 29th to deal with major issues.
Netmarble, NCsoft, Pearl Abyss, NHN Entertainment, and WeMade passed the original bill through the shareholders’ meeting, including the appointment of internal and external directors and modification of the bylaws.
The common keyword that was confirmed through the shareholders’ meeting of the industry on the same day was also “growth.” It prepared a foundation for growth by dealing with adding new business purposes and a change of mission during this week’s shareholders’ meeting.
◆Netmarble CEO emphasizes on “Sustainable Growth Goals.”
“Netmarble’s internal and external business environment was not very smooth last year,” CEO Kwon Young-sik said at a shareholders’ meeting held at the Best Western Hotel in Guro, Seoul, adding, “However, we will develop games that have long-term breath for mid to long-term growth rather than short-term performance.” He added that the company will release new games such as “Seven Crimes” and “BTS World” starting in the first half of this year and introduce “Blade & Soul Revolution” overseas.
“It’s hard to answer regarding the acquisition of Nexon.”
“There is nothing to talk about with the sale of Nexon since it is very sensitive,” Kwon said. “Since we don’t know which company will be in M&A at any point, please consider the issue only as a process to prepare for financing.” Regarding whether a subsidiary will be listed, he said that competitive edge in development is most important and that development companies can prepare for listing only when their performance increases.
◆NCSoft said, “Grow to a Global Comprehensive Enterprise by Expanding game platform”
NCsoft announced its leap to become a global comprehensive game company by expanding its game platform to PCs and mobile devices and consoles. “Although growth of the game industry has slowed down and there are concerns about increased competition, NCsoft’s performance was strong,” said CEO Kim Taek-jin at the shareholders’ meeting held at NC R&D Center in Pangyo. “We are not going to stop here, but we are preparing for bigger growth.” As of Lineage 2M, Blade & Soul 2 and Ion 2, are under development, “It will be an innovative game that will provide PC-level large communities and combat experience that have not been seen in the mobile game market before.” “We will continue to pioneer the market with good content and excellent technology despite fierce competition and rapidly changing market conditions,” he said. “PC, mobile, and even consoles will move beyond the boundaries of platforms to become a global comprehensive game company loved by gamers around the world.”
◆Pearl Abyss: “Building Growth Powers by Adding New Business Purpose”
Pearl Abyss will reappoint its founder Kim Dae-il and Pearl Abyss board chairman and CEO Chung Kyung-in as in-house directors. The company will add educational institute operations for business and create new growth engines based on fostering talent. Pearl Abyss held a shareholders’ meeting at its headquarters in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, and passed a motion to reappoint Kim and Chung as in-house directors. In addition, the bill on the re-election of internal directors Seo Yong-soo and Ji Hee-hwan and the appointment of new in-house directors by Chief Product Officer Huh Jin-young and Vice President Yoon Jae-min of Pearl Abyss was passed. It also added education services, educational institute operation, management counselling, and office support to its business objectives through approval of the revised articles of government. The company explained that the change is aimed at fostering business-related talent and providing explicit grounds for supporting the work of some subsidiaries.
◆NHN and WeMade: “Improved growth through the change of the corporate name”
NHN Entertainment and WeMade Entertainment each changed their corporate names, declaring a fresh start and growth.
NHN Entertainment held a shareholders’ meeting at the Center for Creative Economy and Innovation in Gyeonggi Province, in Pangyo, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, and passed all its agenda items, including the one that changed its corporate name to “NHN.” The change of corporate name will apply from the first day of the next month. NHN Entertainment, which marks its sixth year since its foundation, is determined to focus its capabilities on developing core technologies that have lived up to the fourth industrial revolution such as cloud, AI and big data, besides its existing games and Fintech businesses. WeMade also held a shareholders’ meeting at its Pangyo office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, and handled the agenda, including a revision to the regular building that changed its corporate name from WeMade Entertainment to WeMade.
