Korean gaming industry blasts Tencent's alleged attempt to acquire Nexon

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Korean gaming industry blasts Tencent's alleged attempt to acquire Nexon

Published: 16 Jun. 2025, 21:47 Updated: 17 Jun. 2025, 11:08

YOON SO-YEON
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Tencent logo is seen in this illustration taken Feb. 16, 2025. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The Korean gaming industry protested Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings' alleged attempt to buy its way into the Korean gaming market through a $15 billion acquisition of game developer Nexon.

"Tencent's attempt to acquire Nexon is not just a simple transaction between private companies — it is a strategic move to dominate one of the most important industries in Korea," the Korea Game Society said in a statement on Monday.

"This is a matter of national security that the government should not just neglect on the pretense of neutrality."

Bloomberg reported last week that Tencent has approached the family of the late Nexon founder Kim Jung-ju to explore a potential deal.

Tencent already owns 17.5 percent of game developers Netmarble, 13.6 percent of Krafton, 20.7 percent of Webzen and 40 percent of Shift Up, according to the game society. It also recently bought 9.7 percent of shares of K-pop agency SM Entertainment from HYBE for 240 billion won ($176.5 million).

"It's hard to see Tencent's intentions to control both games and music as just an investment," the Korea Game Society added.

"Amid the prevalent anti-Chinese sentiment in the Korean society, Tencent's moves not only run counter to the people's general sentiments, but they could also shake the diplomatic ties between the two countries, which the governments have been working hard to rebuild."

The Korea Game Society urged the government to designate games as one of Korea's national strategic technologies and protect the industry accordingly.

"Despite its immense contribution to national exports and the economy, the Korean government has failed to designate games as a strategic technology and failed to protect the market against threats of foreign capital," it said.

"We define this as clear nonaction and negligence toward a future industry. This incident will clearly determine how the new Lee Jae-myung administration views the game industry. The National Assembly should procrastinate no longer and implement immediate protective measures."

According to the Bloomberg report, it is “unclear” whether NXC, Nexon’s investment firm, is open to selling its stake. The deal structure remains undecided, and there is no guarantee the discussions will lead to a transaction.

Kim’s wife and daughter collectively own approximately 67.6 percent of NXC shares.

BY YOON SO-YEON [[email protected]]