[THE INVESTOR] Disgraced Nexon founder Kim Jung-ju is unlikely to avoid a jail term if the prosecution gets its way. But the severity of the penalties remain to be seen as the statute for limitations have expired on most of the major charges against him.

The bribery allegations involving the Nexon stocks Kim indirectly offered Jin expired. But the authorities are now questioning the business tycoon on other gifts he provided immediately or before 2010, which is within the statute of limitations.

On July 22, Kim was questioned a third time by the prosecution. The allegations are that Kim may have funded an expensive family trip for Jin.

However, these are all still trivial charges, and the authorities are reportedly digging for more dirt on the former gaming industry legend.

Lobbying and M&As

Many are now questioning why Kim chose to work so hard on networking and spend so much money for it. Lobbying has already been at the heart of a Korean corporation, but Nexon was seemingly distanced from such dirty dealings.

However, when Kim’s business methods are taken into consideration, industry watchers say networking was the only way he could expect to get to where he was.

Every business tycoon has a business secret up his or her arm. For the Nexon founder, it was mergers and acquisitions.
The method is used by many, of course, but when Kim first made his name in the gaming arena -- back in the ’90s -- M&As were rare.

Kim’s first game, “Kingdom of the Wind,” was based solely on his genius. Cited as Korea’s first massive multiplayer online role-playing game, and it became a smashing hit during the dot-com bubble.

But since then, Kim’s expertise has been somewhere else -- acquiring other firms with better ideas and turning them into best-sellers. This is an authorized way of expanding territory. And companies constantly acquire new firms with potential to increase their influence.

The games that followed “King of the Wind,” such as “Maple Story” and “Dungeon & Fighter” were also the result of aggressive M&As.

And M&As, as legal as they may be, require backing. Some say Kim also may have had business secrets that Jin had access to. The speculation, yet unfounded, stems from the fact that on surface, the Nexon founder received nothing in returns for his favors to Jin.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)