Nexth CEO Jang Hyun-kuk (장현국) will strengthen accountable management and work to raise corporate value by exercising a 14.7 billion won call option to buy a large stake in the company.

Nexth said on Thursday that Jang exercised a call option under a shareholder agreement and signed a share purchase agreement for 5,410,590 Nexth common shares held by Linked. The total purchase price is 14.7 billion won.

A regulatory filing showed the call option exercise is based on a shareholder agreement signed on Dec. 13, 2024. The transfer price is 2,710 won per share, which adds 15 percent annual interest to the 2,500 won exercise price. The transfer amount is due in cash through an over-the-counter transaction on the deal closing date of Dec. 31, 2026.

Linked, which transferred the shares in the transaction, will secure cash liquidity. It will hold 4,019,853 Nexth shares, representing a 6.27 percent stake.

Nexth said it attaches meaning to Jang securing the stake directly, further strengthening the foundation for accountable management as chief executive. Nexth is expanding its on-chain gaming ecosystem under Jang, with the blockchain gaming platform CROSS at its core. It has recently rolled out a series of service upgrades, including operation of CROSS mainnet 2.0 Breakpoint, the CROSS Game Hub and CROSS Play 2.0, to accelerate platform growth. Nexth also posted 36.7 billion won in revenue and 1.39 billion won in net profit on a consolidated basis in 2025, returning to profitability.

Nexth CEO Jang said, "Based on securing a stable ownership structure, I will focus more aggressively on growth through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and on boosting corporate value."