We’ve learned some tragic news this morning – Nexon founder Jung-ju Kim has died at 54.

“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,” Nexon President and CEO Owen Mahoney said in a new statement.

He added, “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.”

The news that Nexon founder Jung-ju Kim has died was confirmed by the company over the weekend. Kim founded the Korean developer and publisher back in 1994 and oversaw their development of many popular early MMOs like MapleStory, Mabinogi, and more.

While Kim founded the company and led it for most of its early years, when Nexon was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2011 he moved on from managing the company, and later left its board of directors in 2016.

Kim continued pursuing “investment and philanthropic activities” through Nexon’s parent company, NXC Corporation, but later stepped down as CEO of NXC and as a member of its board too, in 2021.

A cause of death wasn’t mentioned in Nexon’s press release, however NXC confirmed (via the Korea Times) Kim “had been receiving treatment for depression, and we are sad that it seemed to have worsened recently.” He is survived by his wife and two daughters.