The global e-sports market cannot be discussed without mentioning the Blizzard game ‘StarCraft’. For those who spent their school days in the 2000s, StarCraft was both a sport and a culture. It is now known as a folk game. It has produced numerous star players from ‘Emperor of Terran’ Lim Yo-hwan to ‘Taekbang Leessang (Kim Taek-yong, Song Byeong-gu, Lee Young-ho, Lee Je-dong)’, and has contributed to revitalizing the current e-sports market by passing the box office baton to ‘League of Legends’.
If you are a star or a user who enjoys it, there is no way you do not know this player. Seo Gyeong-jong, a pro gamer belonging to MBC Game, who brought innovation to the Zerg race as the founder of ‘Mutal Uniting’. He co-founded Kongdoo Company, a multi-channel network (MCN) company for pro gamers in 2014, and rose to the CEO position the following year.
Kongdoo Company, which changed its name to Steel8 in 2018, was reborn as ‘Loud Corporation’ last year. Loud Corporation is in the business of esports leagues, content production, agencies, and musical entertainment.
It hosts and operates game leagues such as ‘League of Legends’, ‘Battleground’, ‘VALORANT’, ‘Tekken’, and ‘Overwatch’, and takes the lead in protecting the rights and interests of pro gamers by creating an agency ‘Supergent’. Supergent is responsible for pro gamer transfer negotiations, legal and accounting matters, and contracts.
CEO Suh Kyung-jong, whom I met in Gangnam, Seoul on the 20th, said, “I started as a pro gamer when I was 16, so I have been building a career in the industry for over 20 years.” This will contribute to the advancement of the Korean e-sports industry into the global market.”
Loud Corporation = ‘esports league production + agency + musical’
CEO Seo showed a deep affection for e-sports. The Afreeca TV Star League (ASL), which is regarding to open its 15th season, also hosted the National Star League at Loud Copper and held it directly until the 6th season, laying the foundation for league operation. The experience at the time led to league planning and production businesses such as ‘League of Legends’ and ‘Valorant’.
When Loudcopper selects a game item following signing a contract with a local government, a league is created through support from game companies. It has already signed an exclusive league sales contract with a leading broadcasting station in China, and is earning profits through ‘Valorant’ in Japan.
Since e-sports stadiums are consigned to operation in Gwangju, Busan, and Chungnam, it is possible to broadcast league broadcasts all over the world. As the business stabilized, the company, which showed an operating loss of 9 billion won in 2020, filled the deficit gap with 1.5 billion won the following year, and succeeded in turning a profit last year, drawing a growth curve. Sales amount to 20 billion won.
As a former professional gamer, CEO Seo was confident that the prospects for the e-sports league production business would be bright. CEO Seo said, “Demand for e-sports leagues and content is increasing in the global market, and the number of viewers is increasing day by day.”
Acquisition of Entersa ‘Palm Tree Island’… “Towards a comprehensive platform that encompasses e-sports and entertainment”
Loud Copper has many experts in the esports industry. Vice President Lee Jae-myeong, who served as general director of Spotvi Games, and director Park Chang-hyun, who spearheaded the game production business at Ongamenet, are in charge of the company’s e-sports business. CEO Seo added, “We will lead the market by concentrating the capabilities of our members who have been with us in the birth of e-sports.”
Last year, Loudcopper also acquired Palm Tree Island, an entertainment agency founded by Junsu Kim, a singer and musical actor from TVXQ and JYJ. Famous actors in the musical market, such as Kim So-hyun and Jeong Seon-ah, belonged to it.
related articles
It is a direction to develop into a comprehensive platform company that encompasses both markets by putting power into the entertainment business linked to esports intellectual property rights (IP). In addition, Seo’s goal is to establish itself as the first listed company on the local e-sports platform.
CEO Seo emphasized, “Just as the North American esports team Phase Clan succeeded in listing on Nasdaq last year, we will also strengthen our competitiveness with the goal of listing next year.”
