Constitutional Court Rules "'Ban on Game Money Exchange Business' Clause in Game Industry Promotion Act is Constitutional"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Constitutional Court has ruled that the current Game Industry Promotion Act, which prohibits the exchange of game results such as 'game money' for cash, does not violate the Constitution.

On the 28th, the Constitutional Court announced that it unanimously upheld the constitutionality in a constitutional complaint case filed by online game item secondhand trading company A and others, who claimed that Article 32, Paragraph 1 of the Game Industry Promotion Act infringes on the freedom to work and violates the principle of equality.

Previously, 42 domestic and international 'game farms' traded approximately 263.5 billion KRW worth of game money obtained through fraudulent means, including using stolen personal information from 2012 to 2014, on A's intermediary site. A was fined 40 million KRW for helping them bypass identity verification procedures and providing convenience.

The current Game Industry Promotion Act prohibits the exchange, mediation of exchange, or repurchase as a business of tangible or intangible results obtained through the use of game content, such as points, prizes, and virtual currency used within games.

The Constitutional Court stated, "Preventing acts that disrupt the distribution order of game content is a public interest necessary for the promotion of the game industry and the establishment of a healthy game culture," and added, "Compared to this, the restriction on the petitioners' freedom to work cannot be considered severe, so the balance of interests is recognized."

The Court also rejected the petitioners' claim that "the Game Industry Promotion Act provisions excessively prohibit the exchange business of game results." Given the rapid increase in types and functions of game content due to scientific and technological advances, it is necessary to specify the prohibition of exchange business, mediation of exchange business, and repurchase business for 'all types of game results.'

A Constitutional Court official explained, "These legal provisions were legislated against the backdrop of the so-called 'Bada Story' incident in 2006, which represented the gambling-like phenomenon of game content. The Constitutional Court had previously upheld their constitutionality in 2009 and 2010," and added, "The Court confirmed that these provisions block exchange businesses of game results that promote illegal use of game content and decided that they do not violate the Constitution."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.