Korean game studio Smilegate founder Kwon Hyuk-bin starts legal steps for divorce

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Wed, November 29, 2023 | 07:52

Society

Korean game studio Smilegate founder Kwon Hyuk-bin starts legal steps for divorce

Posted : 2023-04-19 17:11

Updated : 2023-04-20 11:16

This Dec. 23, 2019 file photo, provided by Smilegate shows its Chief Visionary Officer Kwon Hyuk-bin. Yonhap

Korean game studio Smilegate founder Kwon Hyuk-bin has begun legal steps to end his marriage, industry and legal sources said Wednesday, it is expected to become one of the country's most expensive divorce cases.

The Seoul Family Court held a pre-trial meeting for the divorce of Kwon and his wife, surnamed Lee, on the day, the first step in a divorce suit, according to the sources.

Lee had filed a suit against Kwon for divorce in November last year, demanding a half stake in Smilegate Holdings Inc. that Kwon owns.

Kwon, 49, founded Smilegate in 2002 and now works as chief visionary officer at the game developer, married Lee in 2001. The couple has two children.

Smilegate has become a major game developer in Korea thanks to big hits like "Crossfire" (2006) and "Lost Ark" (2018).

Its holding company, Smilegate Holdings, which has game-developing subsidiaries like Smilegate RPG and Smilegate Entertainment under its wing, posted 1.58 trillion won ($1.19 billion) in sales and 643 billion won in operating profit for last year.

It became the second-biggest game developer in Korea in terms of annual sales after Nexon Korea Corp., which logged 2.5 trillion won in sales last year.

Kwon was listed as the fourth-richest man in Korea on Forbes' latest billionaire list, with his net wealth estimated at $5.1 billion. He is behind MBK Partners' founder Michael Kim Byung-ju, also known as Michael Kim, Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Celltrion founder Seo Jeong-jin. (Yonhap)