NC Accelerates Restructuring... Implements Spin-off and Voluntary Retirement

NCSoft has initiated a rigorous restructuring process. It plans to spin off some internal departments within the year and carry out voluntary resignations by the end of this month.

On the 9th, NCSoft held an online and offline briefing session for all employees to communicate these details. The session was organized to clearly share information about the background and direction of the ongoing changes at NCSoft, with Co-CEO Park Byung-moo personally sharing the company's management issues and explaining the future direction of change.

CEO Park stated, "During the period of rapid growth, the organization and workforce expanded quickly, but since the endemic phase (periodic recurrence of infectious diseases), the overall game industry has entered a growth stagnation. Our main genre, MMORPG, is struggling due to intensified market competition," adding, "There is strong pressure from shareholders regarding personnel and fixed costs."

He continued, "Compared to similar companies in the industry, NCSoft has relatively many employees and a high concentration at headquarters. Having most functions centralized at headquarters limits efficient and swift decision-making," and explained, "We are conducting detailed reviews and preparations to spin off some organizational functions within the year to foster growth."

Although CEO Park did not specify which departments would be spun off, industry insiders mention support organizations such as the platform under the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and QA (Quality Assurance) as likely candidates.

He also announced that the ongoing voluntary resignation program will be completed by this month. CEO Park said, "Voluntary resignations will be conducted based on organizational reductions due to large-scale restructuring, consolidation of overlapping functions, and previous employee evaluations," adding, "We plan to offer an enhanced severance package compared to before for employees who love the company but must leave inevitably."

He further noted, "At the end of last year, a large-scale company-wide reorganization was carried out, resulting in contract terminations for about 20% of all executives."

Chief Operating Officer (COO) Koo Hyun-beom stated that through spin-offs and voluntary resignations, the number of headquarters employees could be reduced to the mid-4,000s. As of the end of December last year, NCSoft had 5,023 employees in total.

CEO Park expressed his apologies to employees regarding the worsening management situation and the implementation of voluntary resignations. He said, "As management, I feel a complex sentiment and a heavy sense of responsibility about the company's recent difficulties," and added, "I ask for your understanding once again and sincerely apologize as a member of the management team."