Key Takeaways Smilegate founder Kwon Hyuk-bin was ordered to transfer 35% of the company to Lee Hwa-jin. CrossFire has generated $14.7B in sales, making Smilegate’s ownership shift significant. Kwon may challenge the $1.9B settlement after Smilegate’s single-owner structure was upended. Kwon Hyuk-bin built Smilegate into a closely held gaming empire powered by CrossFire and Lost Ark, a company he still owns outright and rarely talks about in public. On 9/9/2026, a Seoul court ordered him to pay a 2.55 trillion won divorce settlement, about $1.9 billion, including handing over 35% of Smilegate to Lee Hwa-jin. Reported by Bloomberg, the decision …


