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The founder of South Korean gaming firm Nexon, Kim Jung-ju, aka Jay Kim, is no more. The firm announced the news of his demise in a press release on February 28.
According to the press release, The 54-year old's demise was unexpected. Nexon's CEO and current president Owen Mahoney said:
"It is difficult to express the tragedy of losing our friend and mentor Jay Kim, a man who had an immeasurably positive impact on the world…He will be deeply missed by his Nexon family and many friends."
Jay Kim is survived by his wife Jung-Hyun Yoo and their two daughters. As per the entrepreneur's private investment firm NXC Corp, his family is "devastated."
Kim Jung-ju was reportedly going through depression
The statement from either of his firms did not confirm the South Korean billionaire's cause of death. However, Nexon's statement to Korean Times stated:
"Jay Kim had been receiving treatment for depression, and we are sad that it seemed to have worsened recently."
This may hint at an unnatural death caused by potential self-harm.
Disclaimer: The part mentioned above speculates the cause of death as per the statement provided by the firm. The information should not be taken with absolute confirmation.
Kim Jung-ju was reportedly the third-richest person in South Korea
As per Forbes, Jung-ju was reportedly the third-richest person in South Korea as of 2021. At the time of his death, the 54-year-old was worth an estimate of $10.9 billion.
According to Bloomberg, Jay Kim (Kim Jung-ju) founded Nexon in 1994, which went on to become a multi-billion dollar firm worth over $13 billion (as of 2019). At the time, Kim was pursuing his doctorate in computer science engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).
Following the game developing giant's launch, the firm released the world's first graphic massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds. Nexon's other games include MapleStory and KartRider.
Last year, Kim Jung-ju resigned as the CEO of NXC Corp, which owns around 47% of Nexon. He had served the position for 16 years. He was replaced by Lee Jae-kyo, who is currently also serving as a director of Nexon Foundation. Meanwhile, Jung-ju left the Nexon board of directors in 2016.
In recent years, Jay Kim had been incredibly philanthropic with several donations made to children's hospitals. In 2018, Kim launched the Nexon Foundation, which is supposed to handle the firm's corporate social responsibility. According to the firm's statement:
"His philanthropy touched millions of young people and included major contributions in health and education including the Purme Foundation Nexon Children's Rehabilitation Hospital in Seoul, South Korea and the Nexon Foundation for building children's hospitals."
The Seoul native personally pledged to donate around $93 million for funding startups and to build children's hospitals.
