Lee Byung-tak, Head of Overseas Planning, has been chosen as the new director to lead Lost Ark through its current crisis.
On October 29, a change of director was announced during a live stream addressing the future direction of Lost Ark. Current Director Jeon Jae-hak tendered his resignation after struggling to establish a long-term vision for the game, opting to step down back into a hands-on development role. Lee Byung-tak, Head of Overseas Planning, was named as Jeon's successor to lead Lost Ark as its new director candidate.
Head of Planning Lee Byung-tak is a veteran developer who has been involved in game design since the early development stages of Lost Ark. In 2022, as lead team manager in charge of character progression, items, and the game economy, he co-led the so-called 'Three Captains' leadership structure alongside Kim Sang-bok and Jeon Jae-hak. After the 'Three Captains' structure ended with Jeon Jae-hak's appointment as director in December 2023, Lee moved to Head of Overseas Planning, overseeing operations for the North America, Europe, and China servers.
Notably, in 2025, he personally attended the Lost Ark China 2.0 overhaul announcement event to introduce the local server's development roadmap. He was also involved in designing 'Paradise,' a progression content feature first introduced on overseas servers, and directly explained the development direction for Paradise Season 2 during the Lost Ark 7th anniversary broadcast in November of that year.
During the broadcast, director-designate Lee Byung-tak shared his thoughts on accepting the role, stating, "I will work hard to fix what is wrong step by step so that everyone can smile and enjoy the game again."
