OTT Council "Welcomes Introduction of National Assembly's Self-Rating Classification System"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] The amendment to the "Act on the Promotion of Movies and Videos (Yeongbi Act)," which centers on the introduction of a self-rating classification system for online video streaming services (OTT), passed the National Assembly plenary session on the 7th. Accordingly, a systemic foundation has been established for OTT operators to classify content ratings independently.

The Korea OTT Council, composed of major domestic OTT operators such as Coupang, Content Wave, TVING, Watcha, and Kakao Entertainment, issued a statement on the day, saying, "We actively welcome the establishment of a foundation to strengthen OTT competitiveness."

With the passage of the Yeongbi Act amendment in the plenary session, OTT operators can now independently classify ratings and distribute content quickly, except for restricted viewing ratings. Until now, as OTT content surged, there were difficulties such as delays in rating classification by the Video Rating Board.

The council stated, "Until now, the domestic video content industry has continuously invested and made efforts to elevate the status of the K-content industry worldwide through the new domain of OTT. However, the excessive regulation of the 'pre-rating system,' which is rare even globally, has been hindering innovation. In response, the government recognized the need for regulatory innovation and announced the 'Digital Media Ecosystem Development Plan' in 2020, presenting plans to introduce a self-rating classification system. After gathering and coordinating opinions among various ministries including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Korea Communications Commission, and the National Assembly, the amended law was finally passed today," it said.

It continued, "We extend deep gratitude and applause to National Assembly members Park Jung, Lee Sang-heon, and Hwang Bo Seung-hee, who directly proposed the amendment bill after comprehensively collecting diverse opinions for the introduction of the self-rating classification system, as well as to Hong Ik-pyo, Chair of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, who coordinated various interests and led the swift legislative amendment as soon as the second half of the National Assembly began."

The committee expressed concerns that despite the introduction of the self-rating classification system, excessive regulation may still persist and urged that industry opinions be gathered during the enactment of subordinate statutes to establish it as an effective system. They said, "Of course, unlike the industry's demand for a notification system, a designation system for self-rating classification operators has been introduced, so concerns remain that it may still act as excessive regulation. We urge the government and stakeholders to maintain closer communication in preparing subordinate laws so that the self-rating classification system can be established as a rational and effective system rather than an additional regulatory imposition."

Furthermore, they requested, "We ask for the continuous interest and support of the government and the National Assembly so that domestic OTT can compete in the global market and grow into an industry with global competitiveness capable of directly introducing K-content worldwide through the rational and effective introduction of the self-rating classification system, which has taken its first step in line with global trends."