[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] Its subsidiary Nexon Games was hit by a stray bullet after Nexon Korea, the nation's largest game company, was fined 11.6 billion won by the Fair Trade Commission for manipulating the probability of drawing random box items.
Nexon Games closed at 14,200 won, down 3.60% from the KOSDAQ market on the 4th. Nexon Korea is the largest shareholder with a 60.08% stake in Nexon Games.
However, Nexon Japan, which holds a 100% stake in Nexon Korea, finished the deal with a 6% increase in its first Japanese stock market trading this year. Rather than the FTC's sanctions on Nexon Korea, favorable business conditions such as China's recent easing of game regulations have reportedly been more highlighted locally.
Nexon Korea was fined 11.64 billion won from the Fair Trade Commission the previous day for not informing users after adjusting the probability of pulling out random box items sold by its games Maple Story and Bubble Fighter. This is the largest penalty imposed by the FTC since the e-commerce law took effect in 2002.
The Fair Trade Commission judged that Nexon is an act of informing false or exaggerated facts banned under the e-commerce law or luring consumers in a deceptive way. Nexon was previously subject to aggravated punishment in 2018 for being sanctioned for the game Sudden Attack on the same charges. At that time, Nexon was also fined 935 million won.
AlphaBIZ 김지선(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
