'Sleep in, start at 11': Nexon Networks offers interns full-time pay in rare perk

"An intern paid the same as a full-time employee?"

Nexon, long regarded as one of the gaming industry's most generous employers, is opening internship applications at one of its subsidiaries.

The program offers flexible start times under a discretionary work-hours system — and, most strikingly, intern pay equal to that of full-time staff.

Nexon Networks announced Thursday that it is recruiting employment-linked interns for its game quality assurance division at the Pangyo Center. Applications are open from Thursday through July 12.

Nexon Networks is South Korea's largest game service and QA specialist, handling operations and quality management for titles developed and published by Nexon. The internship positions are in the game QA division, where interns will manage game quality and support service stability.

The standout feature is the compensation. Interns receive the same level of pay as full-time employees throughout the internship period.

Nexon Networks' starting salary for new hires is around 35 million won ($22,500) — somewhat below Nexon's own entry-level pay, but well above the industry norm of offering interns 70 to 80 percent of full-time wages.

Interns also receive the company's full suite of welfare benefits. Through the discretionary work-hours system, they can set their own start times. Additional perks include up to 3.6 million won in annual welfare points, recharge leave and vacation allowances, group accident insurance, in-house loans, and subsidized lunch and café points.

Above all, the program is an employment-linked internship with a path to permanent hire — a prospect likely to draw strong interest from ICT job seekers in a tight labor market.

Successful candidates will begin work at Nexon Networks' Pangyo Center in August for a six-month stint, after which they may be converted to full-time employees based on performance evaluations. Anyone with a passion for games and the relevant skills is eligible to apply; those who pass the document screening will go through a personality assessment and a practical interview before being selected as interns.

Shin Chung-seok, head of Nexon Networks' management support division, said the employment-linked internship is "a program that allows participants to grow into game QA professionals through systematic, practice-oriented education and ultimately transition to full-time employment." He added that the company hopes to attract "passionate talent who want to help users enjoy games in a stable environment."

Every time Nexon or one of its affiliates posts a job opening, applications pour in at record levels, making each recruitment cycle a talking point in the industry.

At Nexon Company's second-half 2025 recruitment fair, more than 2,000 people turned up over two days last year.

Meanwhile, even as the broader gaming industry struggles, Nexon posted sales of 1.42 trillion won and operating profit of 542.6 billion won in the first quarter of this year — up 34 percent and 40 percent, respectively, from the same period a year earlier, marking the company's best-ever single-quarter earnings.