Entrepreneur to start fund to aid domestic game designers

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Entrepreneur to start fund to aid domestic game designers

A Korean entrepreneur who made a fortune this week by selling the online game company he founded will invest money from the transaction to establish a fund to help Korea’s gaming industry.
Kim Jung-ryool, the 52-year-old creator of Gravity Co., received 400 billion won ($390 million) after selling his stake in the company to two Japanese firms Wednesday, and an official with the Korean game producer said Mr. Kim will use some of the money to set up a so-called “game fund.”
“Mr. Kim said he will form a fund that could help small and start-up game companies produce games independently,” the official said. “As far as I know, he will begin with about 50 billion won and then increase the amount to 100 billion won.”
The Gravity official added that Mr. Kim, who has been in the game business for 30 years, had been considering measures that could help the Korean game industry, and he is in discussions with several Japanese companies to ask them to contribute to the fund.
In addition to the fund, Mr. Kim is said to be working on opening a training institute for future game designers, and on establishing a scholarship to help cover educational costs for the less fortunate.
Following the blockbuster sale of Gravity, best known for the comic book-based online game Ragnarok, which is played by 34 million users in 37 nations, Mr. Kim said at the time he was pondering an investment in games for cell phones and personal digital assistants.


by Chang Chung-hoon
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