[The Editors' Verdict] Reflecting on the Abolition of the Mandatory Game Shutdown System

The mandatory game shutdown system will finally be abolished after 10 years since its introduction. The government announced the ‘Abolition of the Shutdown System and Measures to Create a Healthy Gaming Environment for Adolescents’ on the 25th of last month. This plan includes abolishing the ‘mandatory game shutdown system’ under the Youth Protection Act and unifying the adolescent game time restriction system into the ‘game time selection system’ (optional shutdown system) under the Game Industry Promotion Act, while strengthening game education for adolescents, guardians, and teachers. It aims to support the establishment of a healthy gaming leisure culture for adolescents in an autonomous manner by respecting adolescents’ right to self-determination and the educational rights within families.

The mandatory game shutdown system was proposed in 2004 under the pretext of guaranteeing adolescents’ right to sleep, but from the beginning, it confused the ‘source of the problem’ with the ‘target of blame.’ The fundamental cause of sleep deprivation among Korean adolescents lies in the distorted college entrance system, excessive educational fever, and private education culture. Korean adolescents spend the longest time on studies among OECD member countries, while their sleep and leisure times are exceptionally short. By ignoring the fundamental causes and blaming only games, parents and the state are actually trying to evade their fundamental responsibilities and duties through a superficial policy, which is the essence of the mandatory shutdown system. Moreover, the mandatory game shutdown system is not only premodern and nationalistic but also relies on an administrative convenience-oriented mindset.

The abolition of the mandatory shutdown system regarding adolescent game use is not the end but a new beginning. Alternatives must also be sought. First is the self-regulation approach. This approach leaves the application of the shutdown system to individual operators and market autonomy. Games that do not apply the shutdown system will naturally be phased out in the market. Currently, the Korea Game Policy Self-Regulation Organization (GSOK) monitors and may impose sanctions such as public disclosure on games that do not adopt the shutdown system. This also includes voluntarily providing sufficient information about game usage to parents by operators in the game market to facilitate smooth education and guidance regarding their children’s game use.

Next, the opt-in approach can be considered. The current unified law’s optional shutdown system, as announced by the government, corresponds to this. Operators are only obligated to apply the system when adolescents or parents request the application of the shutdown system.

When prioritizing in accordance with the constitutional principle and constitutional values symbolized by adolescents’ right to self-determination and parents’ right to educate their children, the self-regulation approach is superior to the opt-in approach. However, the self-regulation approach requires trust in the market as a prerequisite. It is also possible to combine the self-regulation and opt-in approaches during a transitional period. Ultimately, however, the optional shutdown system under the Game Industry Promotion Act must be abolished. State intervention in adolescent game use risks infringing on adolescents’ right to self-determination and parents’ right to educate their children, exceeding the limits of state guardianship in youth protection.

Regarding adolescent game use, adolescents, parents, the state, civil society, and the market must each perform their respective roles, and all related parties must come together to deliberate on how to establish these roles. This is also why attention must be paid to follow-up measures after the abolition of the mandatory shutdown system.

Hwang Seong-gi, Professor, Hanyang University School of Law