Kim Jong Un, founder of Nexon, South Korea’s largest gaming company, died on February 28 in Hawaii at the age of 54.
NXC, Nexon’s holding company, announced Kim’s death and said he had been treated for depression as his physical symptoms worsened, according to The Korean newspaper.
He is survived by his two teenage daughters, Kim Jung-min and Kim Jung-yun, and his wife, Yu Jung-hyun.
Nexon CEO Owen Mahoney issued a statement saying: “It is difficult to express the tragedy of the loss of our friend and mentor Jay Kim, a man who has had an immense positive impact on the world. As a founder and visionary, Jay encouraged people around him to ignore skeptics and trust their creative instincts. He will be greatly missed by his family Nexon and many friends. “
Kim launched Nexon in 1994 and became the first Korean gaming company to earn over $ 830 million in annual sales in the first year of its debut. Nexon also developed one of the first multiplayer online role-playing games, The Kingdom of the Winds, in 1996, and launched one of the world’s most famous MapleStory games in 2003.
According to SeoulNexon is now the largest gaming company in South Korea with a market capitalization of $ 27 billion.
In 2007, the 54-year-old debuted on the Forbes list of the richest in Korea, where he ranked 28th with a net worth of $ 590 million. In June 2021, Kim officially became the third richest man in South Korea with a total net worth of $ 10.9 billion, reported Forbes.
After pleading not guilty to bribery charges in 2016, when Kim was accused of borrowing money from a close friend of the prosecutor, he focused on various philanthropic activities. According to Forbes, in 2017 Kim founded the Risk Philanthropy Fund C Program, and in 2018 promised to donate $ 93 million to children’s hospitals and startups. He also said his children would not inherit his fortune.
Between 2013 and 2015, the company donated approximately $ 16.6 million to help build the Purme Foundation Nexon Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital in Seoul. Nexon claims that the hospital is the first rehabilitation hospital built for children in South Korea.
Prior to his death, Kim continued to donate to children’s hospitals in South Korea and had donated a total of $ 3.1 million to Daejeon Chung-nam Public Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital and $ 2 million to the Nexon Palliative Care Center at National University Hospital. in Seoul, which is scheduled to open sometime this year.
Image presentation via Nexon
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