Nexon and Netmarble Generously Raise Salaries by 8 Million Won... What About NC? [Bu Aeri's Game Dictionary]

From the left, Kim Jeong-ju, CEO of NXC; Kim Taek-jin, CEO of NCSoft; Bang Jun-hyuk, Chairman of Netmarble and Coway

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Following Nexon, Netmarble also announced a 'bold plan' to raise employee salaries by 8 million KRW, drawing industry attention to NCSoft's next move. As the talent acquisition war in the gaming industry continues, NCSoft, which surpassed 2 trillion KRW in annual revenue for the first time last year, is deeply considering how to reward its employees.

According to the gaming industry on the 13th, Netmarble announced on the afternoon of the 10th, just before the Lunar New Year holiday, through an internal notice that it would increase employee salaries by 8 million KRW.

For new recruits, the starting salary is 50 million KRW for development positions and 45 million KRW for non-development positions. The salary increase will take effect from March.

Netmarble, which is moving to a new headquarters, will additionally provide monthly points worth about 100,000 KRW (a total of 1.2 million points annually) on top of the existing meal allowance of 100,000 KRW starting next month. For dinner, the support amount was also raised from 7,000 KRW to 10,000 KRW.

A Netmarble official said, "This is a reward for all employees' contributions to the company's growth despite the global pandemic situation and a measure to secure outstanding talent."

Netmarble's announcement of the salary increase is closely related to the talent acquisition war in the gaming industry. Ahead of Netmarble, Nexon raised the starting salaries for new employees by 8 million KRW each on the 1st, setting development positions at 50 million KRW and non-development positions at 45 million KRW.

Nexon's starting salaries were previously around 42 million KRW for development positions and 37 million KRW for non-development positions.

Considering that the average salary for large companies with over 500 employees in 2020, as disclosed by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, was 33.47 million KRW, the salaries at Netmarble and Nexon are regarded as the highest among domestic companies.

Nexon also plans to pay performance bonuses at a higher level than last year. The company intends to maximize employees' passion and motivation by providing top-level performance bonuses to organizations and individuals who achieve significant results. A Nexon official explained, "This is a reward for employees who contributed to the company's growth despite difficult circumstances last year."

NCSoft's salary increase plan is expected to be announced as early as next month. With Nexon and Netmarble consecutively revealing bold measures, NCSoft is inevitably placed in a position to consider employee compensation. Securing excellent development talent is directly linked to a gaming company's competitiveness. An NCSoft official stated, "We plan to review related matters during the new salary setting season in March to April." Currently, NCSoft's starting salary for developers is in the mid-40 million KRW range.

Meanwhile, the 3N companies (Nexon, NCSoft, Netmarble) achieved record-breaking results last year, surpassing a combined annual revenue of 8 trillion KRW and approaching the 10 trillion KRW era. Nexon became the first in the industry to join the 3 trillion KRW annual revenue club, and NCSoft also surpassed 2 trillion KRW in annual revenue for the first time. Netmarble recorded its highest-ever sales. Nexon's revenue last year was 3.1306 trillion KRW, with an operating profit of 1.1907 trillion KRW. NCSoft posted 2.4162 trillion KRW in revenue and 824.8 billion KRW in operating profit. Netmarble's revenue last year was 2.4848 trillion KRW, with an operating profit of 272 billion KRW.

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