NCSOFT held a private groundbreaking event for its new building, which will become a future research and development center. The building will be erected next door to the current headquarters, and construction is planned to be completed in 2027.
The 25,719.9 m² site was acquired in December 2020 for KRW 837.7 billion (~USD 772 million). To purchase the land and further construct the building, NCSOFT organized a consortium of several investment and interested companies. The purchased land was used as a parking lot for several years, and some financial analysts even had doubts about the consortium’s ability to raise funds in the post-Covid period.
The fact is that the construction of the building will cost 1 trillion 871.2 billion won, which at the current exchange rate exceeds 1.391 billion US dollars. Thus, the total cost of the new building already exceeds 2 billion US dollars. In February 2024, NCSOFT said it would invest at least 580 billion won (US$431 million) in construction.
The result of these financial costs will be a 22-storey building (8 underground and 14 above-ground floors) with a total area of 360,739 m² and with car parking for 800 spaces. NCSOFT will own 50% of the space, and the rest will go to independent studios and startups. In addition, under the terms of agreements with local officials, public spaces for local residents will be created in the new building. Perhaps we are talking about educational or entertainment institutions.
According to NCSOFT CEO Park Byung Moon, the new building will become the company’s global research and development center, where developments in the field of technology and games will be carried out.
