Smilegate founder's divorce suit draws attention to game empire built in silence
A Seoul court's ruling Wednesday on the divorce of Kwon Hyuk-bin, Smilegate’s founder and chief vision officer, drew major attention as it involved a record property division payout in Korea — an order for him to pay 2.55 trillion won ($1.91 billion) to his wife. Despite the record settlement amount and the company's megahit first-person shooter game CrossFire, little is known about Kwon, as he…
Seoul's highest court recently delivered a ruling in the divorce proceedings of Smilegate's founder and chief vision officer, Kwon Hyuk-bin. The decision sparked significant interest due to the unprecedented property division payout, amounting to 2.55 trillion won, or approximately 1.91 billion US dollars, which Kwon was ordered to pay to his wife.
Despite the staggering settlement figure and the company's highly successful first-person shooter game, CrossFire, limited information is available about Kwon, as he is notably absent from public appearances, save for charity events. Smilegate, South Korea's fifth-largest game company by sales, operates under the sole ownership of Kwon, who is often referred to as the mastermind behind an industry giant built in relative secrecy.
Although Kwon holds total control over the company, the court's ruling revealed that the company's establishment and expansion were not solely his doing. The lion's share of the ruling, comprising 2.49 trillion won in Kwon's 35 percent stake in the gaming enterprise, and an additional 65 billion won in cash, acknowledges his wife's role in augmenting Smilegate's value.
Emanating from relative obscurity to becoming one of Korea's pioneering entrepreneurs in the gaming industry, Kwon, now 52 years old, remains a figure shrouded in relative mystery.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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