Major South Korean game companies will begin their regular shareholder meeting season late this month. Krafton, Nexon, Netmarble, Kakao Games and NHN have put forward proposals to reappoint chief executives and internal directors.

With economic uncertainty high at home and abroad, a shared view appears to be to secure organisational stability and business continuity under proven leaders rather than replace leadership. With development periods for large projects stretching over several years, management changes can directly affect the direction and schedules of ongoing projects. Analysts say the wave of renewals also reflects these structural features of the industry.

FACTBOX-Performance as rationale: Nexon, Netmarble, NHN, Neowiz

Nexon has the clearest rationale for renewal. Under Chief Executive Lee Jung-heon (이정헌), Nexon posted 4.5072 trillion won in revenue and 1.1765 trillion won in operating profit last year, setting record annual revenue for a second straight year. Its March 25 shareholder meeting will handle a proposal to reappoint Lee. Separately, Nexon last month appointed Embark Studios' Patrick Soderlund as executive chairman by board resolution to bolster its global development strategy and expansion in Western markets. Soderlund, the founder and chief executive of Embark Studios, led the success of new title "Arc Raiders". "Arc Raiders" has sold more than 14 million copies cumulatively since its global release.

Netmarble will also discuss at its March 26 shareholder meeting a proposal to reappoint founder Bang Jun-hyuk (방준혁) as chairman of the board. The backdrop is that last year's revenue of 2.8351 trillion won set a record. Bang has set "RE-BIRTH" as this year's management keyword and plans to focus on qualitative growth by expanding a mobile-centred business structure to PC and console.

NHN Chief Executive Jung Woo-jin (정우진) will seek a fourth term at a March 26 shareholder meeting. NHN last year posted record results of 2.5163 trillion won in revenue and 132.4 billion won in operating profit. Jung, who has led the company since 2014, is seen as the longest-serving professional CEO in the game industry. However, slowing growth in its core game business remains a task. With the company having previewed plans to release 6 new titles this year based on global intellectual property, whether its game division rebounds is expected to be the key issue in the new term.

Neowiz will also handle proposals at its March 27 shareholder meeting to reappoint co-chief executives Kim Seung-cheol (김승철) and Bae Tae-geun (배태근). Backed by the global success of "Lies of P" last year, the company achieved record results of 432.7 billion won in revenue and 60.0 billion won in operating profit. The decision is read as entrusting follow-up growth strategy to management that delivered results.

FACTBOX-Renewals amid weak shares and losses: Krafton, Kakao Games face test

Krafton will consider proposals at its March 24 shareholder meeting to reappoint board chairman Chang Byung-gyu (장병규) and Chief Executive Kim Chang-han (김창한). Kim's reappointment would be his third term. Last year, Krafton posted 3.3266 trillion won in revenue to join the "3 trillion won club", but its shares remain around half of the IPO price of 498,000 won. Its reliance on a single intellectual property, Battlegrounds, is also a structural task that has drawn sustained criticism.

Recent shareholder-return measures and steps to expand into AI lend weight to the prospect of renewal. Krafton announced a physical AI partnership with Hanwha Aerospace, and Kim also serves as CEO of U.S. AI robotics company Ludorobotics while expanding game simulation technology into AI and robotics. With the physical AI partnership and moves into robotics added, a key point to watch is how concretely the strategy to broaden beyond games takes shape under Kim's third-term leadership. As outside directors, it has recruited Kim Min-young (김민영), vice president for content at Netflix Asia-Pacific, and Yeom Dong-hoon (염동훈), chief executive of MegazoneCloud, among others, to bolster board expertise.

Kakao Games will vote at its March 26 shareholder meeting on a proposal to reappoint Chief Executive Han Sang-woo (한상우). Since taking office, Han has focused on reshaping the business structure around games by streamlining non-core affiliates, but a prolonged gap in new titles has left the company recording losses for 5 consecutive quarters since the fourth quarter of 2024. Last year's annual operating loss was 39.6 billion won. Attention is focused on the renewal coming amid weak performance.

Kakao Games plans to lay the groundwork for a return to profit by sequentially launching major new titles in the second half, including "Odin Q", "ArcheAge Chronicle" and "Chrono Odyssey". Han said, "Once new title releases begin after the third quarter, they will be directly reflected in results from the fourth quarter." This renewal has a strong character as a test in which the success of new titles in the second half will practically decide the outcome.

NCSoft will push at its March 26 shareholder meeting for an amendment to its articles of incorporation to change its name to "NC" for the first time in 29 years. Co-Chief Executive Park Byung-moo (박병무) recently presented a target of reaching 5 trillion won in annual revenue by 2030 at a management strategy briefing, setting genre diversification, securing new intellectual property and global expansion as core strategies.

The shareholder meeting season will also bring changes to articles of incorporation following revisions to the Commercial Act. Major game companies put forward proposals to delete clauses excluding cumulative voting and to revise rules related to electronic shareholder meetings. Mandatory application of cumulative voting will begin with the first shareholder meeting to appoint directors after Sept. 10. It will not immediately change board composition, but analysts say it could affect game companies' governance structures in the future as voting rights of minority shareholders are strengthened.

An industry official said, "The bigger the game company, the greater the burden of changing management at a time when new titles and global strategies prepared over several years must begin delivering results in earnest." The official said, "Rather than changing leadership before bearing fruit, the industry's general judgement is to have the management that designed the strategy be responsible for results as well."