Nexon Japan CEO Lee Jeong-heon moved to tighten executive accountability by cutting incentives by 50% and taking responsibility for the refund situation stemming from the probability controversy over "Maple Growing."
On the 24th, Nexon said in a notice under Lee's name, "We take this matter very seriously and will fundamentally overhaul our work systems and organizational culture, putting user trust first."
The company said it cut in half the 2025 incentive allocated to Lee to reflect its commitment to restoring user trust and executive responsibility. It added that the manager in charge of the matter resigned, taking responsibility, and that it completed disciplinary action against related personnel in accordance with internal regulations.
Earlier, as the controversy spread, Nexon dismissed the inaugural head of the Maple Division from the post and had Nexon Korea CEO Kang Dae-hyun concurrently assume the position. The person in question later left the company, according to reports.
"Maple Growing" is an idle mobile game co-developed by Nexon and Able Games and released in Nov. last year, which topped sales on major app markets immediately after launch and became a hit. However, starting this year, a series of probability-related controversies fueled user backlash, and the operations team responded with an apology.
Nexon decided to fully refund all user payments made from the game's launch through Jan. this year. The resulting revenue decline is estimated at about ¥14 billion (about 130 billion won) combined for the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year.