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Photo = Yonhap news |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Seoul, South Korea – April 22, 2025 – The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has sent a review report to NCSoft Corporation, raising allegations that the company manipulated the probability of obtaining randomized in-game items and created privileged "super accounts" for internal use.
According to industry sources, the review report — which functions similarly to an indictment — was sent to NCSoft in February this year. The document reportedly claims that the company deceived users by altering the advertised probabilities of acquiring certain in-game items.
The KFTC launched an on-site investigation at NCSoft’s headquarters in April 2024 following suspicions related to two of the company’s popular mobile games, Lineage M and Lineage 2M. The regulator is investigating whether NCSoft operated so-called "super accounts"—characters equipped with powerful items not easily attainable through standard gameplay—which may have been used to participate in competitive content, potentially misleading regular players.
NCSoft responded by stating, “We are cooperating faithfully with the KFTC’s review process,” adding that it could not disclose further details at this time.
On April 21, the KFTC fined Gravity and Wemade KRW 2.5 million each for violations of the E-Commerce Act. Investigations and potential sanctions against Krafton and Com2uS are currently underway.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
