KRAFTON is said to be moving to reshape its organization to bolster operational efficiency and shore up fundamentals. After freezing new hiring to break out of a plateau in efficiency relative to headcount, the company is now examining ways to reassign existing staff to optimal roles—laying groundwork for a full-fledged productivity push.

Behind this shift lies a structural problem: “quantitative expansion” has outpaced “qualitative growth.” In concrete terms, KRAFTON’s headcount rose from 1,770 in 2022 to 1,926 in the first half of 2025, while annual personnel costs also widened—from KRW 182.7 billion in 2022 to KRW 182.9 billion in 2024—showing continued investment.

Yet over this period, the company’s core revenue mix remained heavily concentrated in Tencent-linked mobile revenue: 67.6% (KRW 1.2528 trillion) in 2022 versus 62.4% (KRW 1.6898 trillion) in 2024—still an overwhelming share. The implication is clear: added headcount and spend have not translated into qualitative growth such as new business lines or a more diversified revenue structure.

In short, the company “got bigger” but did not secure productivity to match—an assessment that appears to have sparked today’s efficiency debate.

According to sources, one proposed remedy is to establish a redeployment unit within the Publishing Group. Jin Oh, who joined last year as Chief Global Publishing Officer (CGPO), is said to be reviewing options to strip out inefficiencies across the organization. The crux is to reassign underutilized talent—not confined to any single department—to areas that need fresh growth drivers.

Recently, KRAFTON halted new hiring under the banner of bringing AI capabilities in-house, trimming open positions to roughly one-third of their usual level. This is seen as the first step in curbing headcount growth—and the opening move in the broader push for workforce efficiency.

However, the very notion of “redeployment” risks reviving negative memories of the company’s past strategies. Though originally intended as a program to manage and develop low performers, it drew criticism as a de facto channel for pushing employees to resign. Some observers worry that, post-reassignment, follow-up measures such as pay freezes, minimal workloads, or reduced working hours could be used to nudge employees toward voluntary departure.

Particularly when direct layoffs are difficult, “redeployment” is being floated as the only viable path to higher efficiency. Employees who bought ESOP shares at the time of the IPO are facing heavy paper losses, which could fuel intense resistance to any forced restructuring. A KRAFTON spokesperson, for their part, drew a clear line: “We are not creating or preparing any specific organization, and this has nothing to do with the ‘Challengers.’”

At the same time, the spokesperson hinted that internal discussions are underway on raising efficiency via reassignment: “Depending on the creation and sunset of businesses, we may need to redeploy personnel, and we are proactively considering that. This is not limited to the Publishing Group.”

They added one more line: “They will hold a 25% stake in the company and serve in an advisory role.”

This article was translated from the original that appeared on INVEN.