Former NCsoft Vice President and Blade & Soul lead producer Bae Jae Hyu has landed in legal hot water thanks to an ongoing insider trading inquiry.
The investigation began last summer when investors seemingly short-sold almost 200,000 shares in the company, a record that saw NCsoft’s stock values fall significantly. Swirling in the background were rumors that Lineage M would launch sans auction hall, which authorities believed might have provoked the move. Bae Jae-hyun, who sold 8000 shares in the company, immediately fell under suspicion, though NCsoft denied the allegations.
But last week, Korea’s Financial Services Commission formally turned the case over to prosecutors.
Insider trading scandals are nothing new to MMORPG gamers; you’ll recall that former Funcom executives were involved in a similar insider trading case following the original launch of The Secret World. The perpetrators in that case were convicted by the Norwegian courts last year.
