Smilegate founder's divorce suit draws attention to game empire built in silence

A Seoul court's ruling Wednesday on the divorce of Kwon Hyuk-bin, Smilegate’s founder and chief vision officer, drew major attention as it involved a record property division payout in Korea — an order for him to pay 2.55 trillion won ($1.91 billion) to his wife. Despite the record settlement amount and the company's megahit first-person shooter game CrossFire, little is known about Kwon, as he rarely makes public appearances, except for charity events. Smilegate, Korea’s fifth-largest game company by sales, is unlisted and wholly owned by Kwon, often called a game empire built in silence. Though Kwon maintains absolute control over the company, the court found that Smilegate’s founding and growth were not solely attributable to him. The bulk of the payout order is made up of Kwon’s 35 percent stake in the game company, worth 2.49 trillion won, and 65 billion won in cash, meaning the court recognized his wife’s contributions to building the company’s value. From ashes to empire Kwon is regarded as one of the Korean game industry’s early-generation entrepreneurs. Now 52, h