Kim Jung-ju (also known as Jay Kim), the South Korean founder of gaming giant Nexon, has passed away in February 2022.

The news was revealed in a statement by Nexon on Mar. 1.

The 54-year-old leaves behind a wife and two teenage daughters.

NXC Corp., the holding firm of Nexon, told Yonhap News Agency that Kim was in the U.S. when he died, and that they are unable to "explain in detail as all of his family members are devastated."

However, NXC revealed that Kim had been receiving treatment for depression, and that his condition "seemed to have worsened recently."

Nexon President and CEO 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.

"As a founder and visionary leader, Jay encouraged those around him to ignore the skeptics and trust their creative instincts. He will be deeply missed by his Nexon family and many friends."

Became a billionaire in 2021

Graduating from Seoul National University with a major in computer science, Kim founded Nexon in 1994, and went on make it one of South Korea's largest gaming companies.

In 1996, Nexon developed one of its first MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game), Nexus: The Kingdom of the Winds.

It went on to launch the massively popular MapleStory in 2003, which has over 180 million registered users worldwide, according to Forbes.

In MapleStory, players design their own avatars, complete quests, defeat monsters and develop their characters' skills and abilities.

A large part of its popularity was due to the fact that players could interact and chat with other players, and form parties and guilds to hunt monsters and share rewards.

Kim became the CEO of Nexon in 2005, but resigned a year later. He then became the CEO of NXC, and resigned in July 2021, reported Yonhap.

In 2007, the Kim made his debut on the Forbes’ Korea Rich List, ranking No. 28 with a net worth of US$590 million (S$801.8 million).

In June 2021, Kim became the third richest man in South Korea with a total net worth of US$10.9 billion (S$14.8 billion), according to Forbes.

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Top photo from Nexon