"Establishment of Game Promotion Agency"... Assemblyman Cho Seungrae Proposes Comprehensive Amendment to Game Law

Management Separated for Digital and Arcade Games
Includes Tax Benefits for Games and Cultural Expense Deductions

The ruling party has introduced a bill that separates the game sector and establishes a 'Game Promotion Agency' to specialize in policies for fostering the industry.

Game. Pixabay

On September 24, Assemblyman Cho Seungrae of the Democratic Party of Korea sponsored an amendment to the 'Game Industry Promotion Act' that aims to abolish the Game Rating and Administration Committee and establish a Game Promotion Agency.

The amendment separates games into digital games and location-based games (arcade games), and relaxes regulations exclusively for digital games. In particular, it abolishes the game time selection system previously applied to online games, as well as the requirements for identity verification and legal guardian consent for games rated for all ages, thereby improving accessibility and convenience for users.

The bill also introduces new provisions to support small and medium-sized game businesses and to provide tax incentives for the promotion of the game industry. Additionally, the ambiguous provision stating that "games depicting anti-national behavior or undermining family ethics must not be produced or imported" has been clarified to specify that only content subject to punishment under specific laws such as the Criminal Act will be regulated, thus enhancing predictability of regulations.

Furthermore, the bill includes the establishment of the Game Promotion Agency and the abolition of the current Game Rating and Administration Committee. However, the amendment stipulates that the committee will be incorporated as a subsidiary organization under the new agency, where it will be responsible solely for tasks such as rating arcade games with high gambling concerns and supervising gambling-related issues.

The title of the law will be changed from the 'Game Industry Promotion Act' to the 'Game Culture and Industry Promotion Act.' Assemblyman Cho stated that, to emphasize that games are also a form of culture and art, he has also sponsored an amendment to the 'Restriction of Special Taxation Act' to include game usage fees as eligible for cultural expense tax deductions. In addition, he has proposed an amendment to the 'e-Sports Act' to support the inclusion of e-sports events in international competitions.

Assemblyman Cho explained that many of the policy proposals announced by the Democratic Party's special committee on games in May have been reflected in the legislation. He said, "The global status of K-content is rising day by day. As games account for 50% of cultural content exports, proactive laws and systems are needed to foster the game industry," adding, "I hope the passage of this amendment will provide an opportunity for the game industry, which is currently in a stagnant period, to make another leap forward."

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