Nexon's late founder Kim Jung-ju / Courtesy of Nexon

By Baek Byung-yeul

Leaders in the games and startup industries here are mourning the abrupt death of Kim Jung-ju, founder of the country's largest game company Nexon, expressing their condolences and sharing heartwarming stories about Kim on social media.

"My beloved friend left us. I have never felt this great a pain in my life," Kim Taek-jin, founder and CEO of NCSOFT, wrote on Facebook on Tuesday night when news of the Nexon founder's death reached him.

NXC, the holding company of Nexon, said Tuesday that Kim died in the United States late last month. He was 54.

The company disclosed no specific details about the cause of death but said, "Kim had been receiving treatment for depression, and we are sad that it seems to have worsened recently."

The company added a request to respect the bereaved family's privacy.