Nexon's 'Dungeon Fighter Online' Executive Director Park Jong-min disclosed the facts surrounding the recent disciplinary firing of an employee through an announcement on September 23. The confirmed violations by the terminated employee were two-fold: real-money trading (RMT) of in-game currency and engaging in non-work activities during work hours. The company explained that there was no leakage of insider information or abuse of administrator privileges, which players had voiced concern over.
Director Park stated in the notice, "Based on the facts confirmed through our internal investigation, we carefully reviewed the grounds, severity, and procedural appropriateness for disciplinary action in accordance with relevant laws and internal company regulations before deciding on disciplinary dismissal." The company broke down the investigation results into nine items, marking them as either "Present" or "Absent." The two items marked as "Present" were real-money trading of in-game currency and non-work activities during work hours.
The seven items marked as "Absent" included abuse of administrator privileges and abnormal generation or duplication of currency. It also noted that there was no use of non-public information obtained through work duties, no provision of such information to third parties, no direct or indirect personal gain through it, and no external data transmission. Additionally, the accounts used for RMT and the counterparties involved were confirmed to have no connection to the company's business operations.
The sole confirmed violation of the game's operational policy was real-money trading of in-game currency. The company explained that the traded currency was acquired through normal gameplay. However, this statement is based on the company's internal investigation and has not been verified by an independent third party.
Director Park wrote, "Given that there were past precedents, I understand why Adventurers view this matter with concern." 'Dungeon Fighter Online' previously suffered an incident where an employee illicitly generated and traded items using administrator privileges, after which Nexon fired the employee and filed criminal charges. Director Park stated that internal controls and audit procedures have since been strengthened, and that this incident was caught through the enhanced inspection process, leading to the investigation and disciplinary action.
The same notice also contained an apology regarding the 'Arad Community Center' broadcast. 'Arad Community Center' is an official community stream for 'Dungeon Fighter Online' that recently resumed after about two years, but faced backlash from players over the choice of host. Director Park stated, "The purpose of the broadcast, the selection of the host, and the prior review process are entirely my responsibility," adding, "I failed to adequately consider past developments and the current sentiments of our players."
Nexon decided not to feature the host in future broadcasts. Director Park added that this decision does not mean discontinuing communication via live streams, and that they will review alternative ways to deliver information and entertainment.
