Last year, the individual with the highest salary in the gaming industry was Jang Hyun-guk, the representative of SHIFT UP (formerly Action Square). Based on current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) rankings, Kim Chang-han, the representative of KRAFTON, ranked first, while SHIFT UP recorded the highest average employee salary.
According to the business reports submitted by major game companies to the Financial Supervisory Service on the 24th, Jang received a total compensation of 10.718 billion won, which included a salary of 1 billion won and stock option exercise profits of 9.716 billion won while serving as vice chairman of Wemade last year. After resigning from Wemade, Jang moved to the position of representative of SHIFT UP in early 2025.
Among the current CEOs, Kim Chang-han, the representative of KRAFTON, received a total of 5.931 billion won, including a salary of 546 million won and a bonus of 5.367 billion won, securing first place. KRAFTON reported its highest ever performance in 2023, with revenue of 2.7098 trillion won and operating profit of 1.1825 trillion won, leading to a 67.5% increase in Kim's compensation compared to the previous year.
In contrast, Kim Taek-jin, the representative of NCSOFT, received a total of 3.585 billion won, consisting of a salary of 255.9 million won and a bonus of 100 million won, a significant drop from the 7.246 billion won received the previous year.
Compensation for developers also saw a noticeable increase. NEXON GAMES paid Kim Yong-ha, the PD who developed 'Blue Archive,' 1.116 billion won, which is higher than that of the CEO. NEOWIZ also set a compensation of 1.53 billion won for Choi Ji-won, the director of 'Lie of P.'
KRAFTON provided 2.552 billion won to Jang Tae-seok, a director who contributed to the success of the PUBG series, and offered approximately 1.7 billion won each to directors Kim Tae-hyun and Kim Sang-kyun.
In terms of average employee salary, SHIFT UP, known for 'Goddess of Victory: Nikke' and 'Stella Blade,' recorded 131.65 million won, securing the top spot. KRAFTON (100.9 million won) and NCSOFT (100.8 million won) also surpassed an average salary of 100 million won.