Collision Between Incentive Culture and Expectations
On June 25, 2025, Neople's labor union (Nexon Chapter's Neople Branch under KCTU's Chemical, Fiber and Food Workers' Union) launched Korea's game industry's first-ever general strike for 3 days — Seoul office from June 25, Jeju headquarters from June 26, with rolling departmental strikes continuing afterward. The core trigger: "new development performance bonus (GI)" reduction despite record results. The union argued: "Dungeon & Fighter Mobile" achieved record revenue in China (1.3783 trillion won) and operating profit (982.4 billion won) yet the performance bonus was reduced to two-thirds of the previous level. The union demands approximately 39.3 billion won in profit-sharing (PS, ~4% of operating profit). Three dispute points: (1) Performance bonus reduction — union: "reduced compensation despite record performance"; company: "regulation change reflecting project specifics"; (2) Working conditions — structural issues of excessive hours and accumulated fatigue confirmed across multiple job categories; (3) Compensation transparency — union criticizes unilateral criteria changes; company claims "rational performance-based system." Management perspective: the company returned approximately 15% of 2024 operating profit as performance bonuses and can provide spot bonuses up to 33 million won per person. The "average salary of 200 million won" reported in media created additional controversy — the union notes actual contract salary is approximately 60 million won, with performance bonuses making the difference; that gap is precisely what's disputed. Industry significance: the first game industry strike establishes that game industry workers will exercise collective action rights, challenging the informal "startup culture" norms that have long suppressed organizing in Korean game companies despite the industry generating massive profits.
