- NCsoft launches ESG management and forms unique discourse on topics such as AI ethics

Even in the game industry, ESG (environmental, social, and governance) management is becoming a hot topic. Starting from NCsoft, several game companies announced their commitment to ESG management, creating a new wave in the game industry running towards the “20 trillion won era.”

NC established the NC Cultural Foundation in 2012 and has been engaged in social contribution activities since then. Now that it has established the ESG Management Committee, it has set up diverse ways to implement social responsibility. NCsoft pointed out “consideration for future generations,” “support for the socially disadvantaged,” and “protection of environmental ecosystem” as the core areas for fueling the engine of sustainable growth.

AI ethics was the most noticeable point brought up. NC recently showcased their “AI Framework” series to improve leadership and ethics in the AI era on YouTube and blogs, drawing attention inside and outside the industry. The AI Framework series is an annual project for “Leadership and Ethics in the AI Era,” one of the core areas of NC's ESG management. Through discussions with world-renowned scholars from Harvard University, Stanford University, and MIT, new perspectives and directions for AI technology are being discussed. The discourse will be attended by scholars in various fields, including Stanford Professor Fei-Fei Li, the maker of ImageNet, and Rob Reich, professor of political science who is also the director of Stanford’s Social Ethics Center.

Also, major game companies in Korea like Netmarble and Nexon are getting ready to do ESG management by setting up ESG committees by the second half of this year.

-LG in its third year with Koo Kwang-mo joins hands with Kakao by investing 100 billion won in Kakao Mobility

LG Group will invest 100 billion won in Kakao Mobility, which focuses on smart mobility businesses such as navigation and taxi services, and seek new business opportunities. Its goal is to create a synergy effect between electric vehicle (EV) and autonomous vehicle-related solutions such as batteries and vehicle electronic equipment and smart mobility services.

LG Corporation, the holding company of LG Group, announced on July 2 that it has decided to invest 100 billion won in Kakao Mobility. In cooperation with Kakao Mobility, LG plans to secure battery driving data from its affiliate LG Energy Solution and explore new business opportunities in the future mobility sector, such as battery replacement and electric vehicle charging solutions. An LG official stated, "Through this investment, we will increase our understanding of mobility platform customers and create synergy with Kakao Mobility."

Kakao Mobility is developing and operating Kakao T, an integrated online/offline linkage (O2O) platform that provides a variety of transportation services from call taxis, parking, surrogate driving, and navigation for electric bikes. Kakao Mobility is focusing on the development of mobility services using electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles, and it is expanding the area of transportation platforms based on big data accumulated in service operation.

-Lee Jun-seok and Kim Eun-hye gather the voices of young people in Pangyo in hopes of creating new culture

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of People Power Party, met young people in Pangyo on July 2 and listened to the opinions on various topics and answered their questions.

Member Eun-hye Kim held a “Youth Debate Battle” with Leader Lee at Pangyo U Space Square in Seongnam around lunchtime that day.

They spoke on a variety of topics such as fairness and the education system, future technology, the environment, and the social security system, and Leader Lee Jun-seok delivered his answers and thoughts on them.

In his closing remarks, Leader Lee said, "When I go out on the streets and talk to people, I think about how much danger Korea is facing, and whether we need to think about it. I hope this debate does not end here, and further become a culture.”

He then said, "If you have similar concerns, we can communicate anywhere, lightly at the dinner table for example," and emphasized, "Even if we don’t prepare a venue like this today, our people can discuss in other places. When we do this, we will be able to make rational choices and make good decisions in politics in the future.”

Member Eun-hye Kim also said, "This is the beginning of listening to people' stories like today." She added, "We talked about the future of the Republic of Korea here ... go in Pangyo. I will see you more often with the thinking that the future of Korea correlates to the future of Pangyo."

-Seongnam-si opens Pangyo Job Center to support youth employment

Seongnam-si in Gyeonggi Province announced that it opened the Pangyo Job Center on July 2 to match job seekers with Pangyo companies and help young job seekers grow and find employment.

The Pangyo Job Center is 178 m² (54 pyeong) in space equipped with an education center, an AI/VR room, and a consultation room on the underground road connected to Pangyo Station. There are eight professional job counselors present to help young job seekers develop their competencies and ultimately find jobs.

Also, it supports counseling necessary to get jobs, and provides free rental service of interview suits, non-face-to-face employment consulting, an online job cafe, and an AI and VR interview experience.

Also, this past week, an on-site job fair ran for three days, July 6th to the 8th, at the underground square in front of the Pangyo Job Center. On this day, 30 companies including NCsoft, TmaxSoft, and EOFLOW participated as hiring companies and conducted on-site interviews.

Seongnam-si plans to help find jobs for young job seekers in cooperation with Pangyo Techno Valley companies, operate Pangyo’s specialized education programs such as Pangyo special lecture job mentoring, and hold recruitment events tailored to these young job seekers.

Pangyo Technovalley is an innovation hub for global companies comparable to the Silicon Valley in the US, Zhongguancun in China, and STATION F in France. It is an Asia tech hub with 1,259 IT, BT, CT, and NT companies that possess innovative products and technologies. Located just south of the metropolitan area, it provides the best environment for Korean companies to do business with great transportation access and infrastructure.

Various high-tech companies are located in Pangyo Technovalley, and it is occupied by 64,000 full-time employees, many in their 20-30s. In terms of industry, the companies are engaged in information technology, contents technology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology.

With the support of innovative companies with global capabilities such as Kakao, Naver, AhnLab, Krafton, NCSoft, Nexon, and Hancom, companies in Pangyo Technovalley recorded 107 trillion won in sales last year. Investment and infrastructure growth in Pangyo is expected to continue, with the Metaverse hub entering Pangyo this year.

Source: Pangyo Techno Valley Official Newsroom

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