[Edaily Reporter Ahn Yu-ri] #Webzen announced on the 10th that it plans to purchase an additional 10 billion won worth of treasury stock, following the cancellation of treasury stock and the payment of a special dividend in the first half of this year. With this, the total shareholder returns announced by Webzen this year amount to approximately 100 billion won, equivalent to about 31% of its market capitalization.

Webzen announced plans to repurchase approximately 10 billion won (1.1 million shares) worth of treasury stock in a disclosure on the 10th. This treasury stock repurchase is part of Webzen’s shareholder value enhancement plan announced earlier this year.

Webzen launched its proactive shareholder return policy in March by paying approximately 20.3 billion won in dividends, including a tax-exempt special dividend in addition to its regular dividend. This dividend amount is 2.3 times that of the previous year, and the dividend yield of 5.1% places it in the high-dividend category. Webzen met the requirements for a high-dividend company, enabling it to receive the benefit of separate taxation on dividend income.

In May, the company retired 3.63 million shares of treasury stock. This represents 10.5% of the total outstanding shares and is a large-scale retirement worth 52.9 billion won based on book value. Including the additional special dividend of 16.5 billion won scheduled for payment this year, the total shareholder return announced so far this year amounts to approximately 100 billion won. As of today, this represents about 31% of the company’s market capitalization.

Webzen’s aggressive shareholder return policy is being viewed as exceptional, even amid a trend of domestic game companies rolling out shareholder return measures one after another amid sluggish stock prices.

Webzen emphasized that the company’s commitment to its shareholder return policy is long-term. The company explained that it possesses the financial stability and business capacity to sustain shareholder returns at the announced scale, and that management’s commitment is clear.

Webzen also stated that it will respond to the domestic market downturn by focusing on expanding its overseas business. In the first quarter, Webzen’s overseas business surpassed the share of its domestic business, maintaining its role as a cash cow.

Kim Tae-young, CEO of Webzen, said during the first-quarter earnings call, “Although we face difficult conditions requiring us to respond to the economic downturn, we will spare no effort to recover market share and enhance shareholder value, with solid financial stability as our primary foundation.”