"Game Rating Unfair"... 5,000 People Sign National Petition Requesting Board of Audit and Inspection Review

Crowds Stretching 1.5km Around National Assembly... Lee Sang-heon’s Office to Submit Joint Petition to Board of Audit on 31st

Gamers demanding an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection regarding allegations of misconduct at the Game Rating and Administration Committee are participating in a joint signature campaign with the office of Lee Sang-heon, a member of the Democratic Party, in front of the National Assembly building in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 29th.

More than 5,000 ordinary citizens flocked to sign a national petition requesting an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection regarding allegations of corruption in the Game Rating and Administration Committee's rating classification system construction project.

According to the office of Lee Sang-heon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, a large crowd gathered from noon to 6:30 p.m. for the petition signing, forming a long line in front of the National Assembly main gate even before the signing began as gamers participated in the joint signature campaign.

The initial target was 300 people, but gamers who shared concerns about the unfair review practices of the Game Rating and Administration Committee increased over time, resulting in a total of 5,080 participants (tentative estimate by the lawmaker's office) signing the petition over about six hours.

The majority of participants agreed that the Game Rating and Administration Committee had lost fairness in its game rating classification. Although they played different games, most participants claimed that the content of their games was deleted due to incomprehensible censorship or received a "restricted to adults" rating. They argued that "it is problematic that a government agency, not a private organization, reviews games, and the standards are also out of touch with reality."

Previously, the Game Rating and Administration Committee decided in 2017 to build an "Integrated Post-Management System for Self-Rated Games," spending a total budget of 3.88 billion KRW to receive the network system in 2019. However, the problematic system remains incomplete, with two of the five subsystems not functioning properly, and it is known that the committee has not received any compensation from the company outsourced for development.

A representative from Lee’s office said, "We plan to submit the petition to the Board of Audit and Inspection on the 31st," adding, "Starting with the audit, we will continue to pursue unresolved suspicions through prosecution investigations."