Park Jae-hyuk is a seasoned journalist who has provided comprehensive coverage of South Korea's corporate dynamics, economic policies, industry challenges and the global positioning of Korean companies. Based on the articles he has written since joining The Korea Times in 2016, his investigative approach has helped readers understand corporate governance, economic trends and business strategies shaping South Korea’s economy.
Nexon, NCSOFT, Netmarble unions protest restructuring in game industry
This combined photo shows Nexon Korea headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, top left, Netmarble headquarters in Seoul, top right, and NCSOFT headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Newsis, Courtesy of Netmarble, NCSOFT
By Park Jae-hyuk
Major gaming firms in Korea have been embroiled in intensifying disputes with their unionized workers, who protest management attempts to cut labor costs amid worsening profits, according to industry officials, Sunday.
The labor union of Neople, a Nexon subsidiary that developed Dungeon & Fighter, threatened on Tuesday to take industrial action, as the wage talks ended in failure. If labor and management fail to reach an agreement after arbitration by the Jeju Regional Labor Relations Commission, the union can win the legal right to go on strike after a vote by its members.
“Despite Neople’s handsome profits, the company offered a wage growth rate similar to those of other affiliates without offering any incentives,” the union said in a statement. “Between 2019 and 2013, Neople’s operating profit reached 3.8 trillion won ($2.7 billion), which is larger than 70 percent of the total operating profit of Nexon Group affiliates.”
Company management refuted the claims, saying that the union has demanded a 9.24 percent wage increase despite an 11 percent drop in the company’s annual operating profit.
“The wage growth rates have not differed between Nexon’s affiliates, as they have jointly developed games and provided services to users,” a Neople official said.
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NCSOFT’s union urged management on Wednesday to retract its planned spinoff and stop causing concerns over job security. Last month, the gaming firm asked some of its employees to leave the company and announced the spinoff plan to reduce the number of workers at its headquarters to around 4,500 from 5,000.
The union attributed the company’s worsening profits to the lack of leaders who can direct the development of attractive games.
“We are not disposable products, so we will not tolerate management’s irresponsible and selfish behavior,” the union said in a statement. “If management ignores our request, we will take every possible measure to protect our rights, livelihoods and future.”
Netmarble employees formed a labor union last month, joining the workers of the nation’s six other gaming firms who have already organized unions. The Netmarble union belongs to the Korean Chemical, Textile & Food Workers’ Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of Korea’s two largest umbrella unions.
“Netmarble is currently under invisible restructuring,” the union said in a statement. “The company has dismissed non-permanent employees before their contracts expire, disbanded several teams for some obscure reasons and frozen salaries.”