The South Korean gaming industry was rocked by a major development on June 30, 2026.
According to a formal filing with the Korea Exchange by Wemade, its founder and chairman, Park Kwan-ho, has signed a stock purchase agreement (SPA) with the investment platform NeoPulse to sell his entire 39.33% stake, comprising 13,350,738 shares, for a total of 920 billion won (approximately 4 billion yuan, or 593 million USD).
Upon completion of the transaction, NeoPulse will become the new largest shareholder of Wemade with a 40.25% holding, marking the formal exit of a first-generation figure in Korea's gaming sector.
The 53-year-old Park Kwan-ho is an iconic figure from the first generation of South Korea's game industry.
In 1996, while serving as the development team leader at Actoz Soft, he led the development of "Legend of Mir" (known as "Hot-Blooded Legend" in China).
In February 2000, Park left with his core development team to start his own venture, founding Wemade, which launched "Legend of Mir 2" the following year, achieving phenomenal success in the Chinese market.
Wemade was listed on the KOSDAQ in 2009.
For over two decades thereafter, the company was embroiled in protracted cross-border lawsuits with Shanda Games (now Century Huatong) and several other Chinese gaming companies over the ownership rights to the "Legend" IP.
It was not until August 2023 that Century Huatong reached a settlement agreement with Wemade; in February 2026, Kaiying Network also reached a comprehensive settlement with Wemade for 198 million yuan.
The resolution of these legal disputes appears to have cleared the final obstacle for Park's exit.
The pricing of this deal itself reveals the valuation benchmark Chinese capital places on the "Legend" IP.
The per-share transfer price of approximately 68,910 won is 3.6 times Wemade's closing price of 19,330 won on the announcement date, incorporating a "considerably high level of control premium."
The total transaction value of 920 billion won also far exceeds Wemade's current market capitalization.
According to media reports, NeoPulse cited Wemade's MMORPG development capabilities and the strong competitive edge of the "Legend" IP in the Chinese market as primary investment rationales.
Wemade's full-year 2025 revenue was 614 billion won, of which "Legend" IP licensing income accounted for 107.1 billion won—this licensing revenue alone is close to one-ninth of the total deal value.
In a Chinese market that has cumulatively generated over 370 billion yuan in value with an annual market size of 35.55 billion yuan, securing control of the IP for 4 billion yuan may not be considered expensive from the buyer's perspective.
The identity of NeoPulse is the most intriguing aspect of this transaction.
Multiple media reports indicate that NeoPulse is an investment platform wholly owned by the Hong Kong investment management firm Shengsong Investment, established in October 2025.
Its representative director, Chen Wei, is reported to have close ties to Alibaba, and it is rumored that Alibaba personnel assisted throughout the negotiation process.
This move comes just as news emerged that Alibaba is planning to sell its in-house gaming business, Lingxi Interactive Entertainment, for 7 to 9 billion yuan.
The strategic intent behind this simultaneous contraction of in-house game development and increased focus on IP control—with Alibaba-linked capital spending 4 billion yuan to acquire control of the Korean "Legend" IP—is thought-provoking.
The shockwaves this deal sent through the South Korean gaming industry far exceed those of a typical equity transfer.
Historically, Chinese capital's involvement in Korean gaming companies has mostly been through minority stakes—for instance, Tencent holds approximately 17.52% of Netmarble, 14.40% of Krafton, and 34.46% of Shift Up.
However, the Wemade transaction marks the first time Chinese capital has achieved absolute control over a first-generation Korean gaming company.
Some industry experts in Korea express concern that this could mark the beginning of Chinese capital acquiring management control of Korean game firms.
The timing of the deal is also controversial.
In 2024, Park Kwan-ho returned to the front lines of management after a 12-year absence, widely seen as a move to "rescue" the company—Wemade was then in turmoil due to the delisting of its virtual asset WEMIX and investigations into false disclosure.
Under his leadership, Wemade turned an operating loss of 11 billion won in 2023 into a profit of 7 billion won in 2024, which further grew to 10.6 billion won in 2025.
Just as the company's operations were returning to normal and the two-decade-long "Legend" copyright disputes were finally resolved, the founder chose to relinquish his entire equity stake.
In an internal letter to employees, Park Kwan-ho explained his decision: "The gaming industry is no longer confined to any single country. Expanding into larger markets is now not a 'choice' but a 'condition for survival.'"
He also stated that Wemade would leverage the new shareholder's ecosystem to accelerate the integration of AI technology into game development.
For the Chinese gaming industry, the direct impact of this deal is more concrete.
The copyright holder of the "Legend" IP has shifted from a Korean company to one controlled by Chinese capital.
This means the future licensing structure for the "Legend" IP in the Chinese market will evolve into internal transactions among Chinese capital entities.
Century Huatong has explicitly denied involvement in this acquisition.
Regardless of who ultimately manages the process, the pricing power, licensing strategy, and development direction of the "Legend" IP are entering a completely new phase.
For those Chinese gaming companies that have built vast commercial empires around the "Legend" IP over the past two decades, whether a copyright holder controlled by Chinese capital will be a smoother channel for cooperation or a more powerful negotiating counterpart will become clear in the coming years.
Following the announcement, Wemade's stock price surged 29.7% in after-hours trading, hitting the daily limit-up.
The capital market has cast a vote of approval with real money for this change of ownership in the "Legend."
For the South Korean gaming industry, however, this 920 billion won transaction is likely just the beginning.
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