Caption: The appearance of NCSoft’s R&D center located in Pangyo Techno Valley in Gyeonggi Province.
NCSoft, which had been under the management regime centered around founder Kim Taek-jin, entered into a restructuring phase in March by recruiting professional managers and shifting to a ‘co-management’ structure. The company put its overseas subsidiaries on the operating table. Kim’s younger brother Kim Taek-heon, the executive vice president, has been in charge of NC America, NC Japan, and NC Taiwan, while Kim’s wife, Yoon Song-yi, changed the leadership of NC West and initiated restructuring.
NCSoft announced on the 12th that it is carrying out a personnel reorganization in its overseas subsidiaries. It has recruited Jin Jung-hee, former head of Pearl Abyss America, as the new CEO of NC America. Jin has experience in publishing and expanding global businesses in the Western market for 15 years in the gaming industry in North America and has worked as the head of Pearl Abyss North America and Kakao Games. Executive officers are in charge of NC Japan and NC Taiwan, while Park Byung-moo, co-CEO, leads NC West.
NCSoft stated that this decision is aimed at discovering new growth momentum and expanding global capabilities. Accordingly, it is expected that Jin will work towards the integration and systematization of the U.S. business that was previously divided between NC America and NC West. Yoon Song-yi, as the president of NC Culture Foundation, plans to focus on international activities related to artificial intelligence ethics and social contribution.
NCSoft’s low overseas sales have always been under scrutiny. Just before NCSoft’s restructuring in February, Shinhan Investment Securities pointed out that increasing the proportion of overseas sales is essential for the recovery of investor sentiment towards NCSoft. In the second quarter of last year, the proportion of total sales (totaling 368.9 billion won) from North America and Europe combined fell below 10% (33.9 billion won). Sales outside of Asia, excluding Korea, also only reached 56.9 billion won.