[Exclusive] Seoul City Aims for 12 Trillion Won Game Industry in 5 Years... Developing Experts for 'eSports' Transformation

Support Roadmap Established for 'Top 3 Game and eSports Cities'
'eSports-ification' as Core... 165 Billion KRW Expected Over 5 Years Through Related Industries
'Game Specialist Academy' to Produce 120 Experts Annually
DMC Esplex Center to Utilize All Floors Through Remodeling Plan

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is set to unveil a comprehensive plan to grow the Seoul game industry to a scale of 12 trillion KRW by 2028. The core of the plan is to cultivate over 120 specialized professionals annually in the game industry through administrative and financial support for small and venture game companies, and to create high added value through the e-sports transformation. Based on this, it is expected to generate an economic effect of 165 billion KRW in related industries over the next five years.

According to Seoul city officials on the 4th, the city recently established a vision to make Seoul one of the 'Top 3 Game and e-Sports Cities' and has begun formulating a roadmap containing comprehensive support measures to operate the game industry as a key future growth engine.

Last November, the Seoul Metropolitan Government set up a 'Game Show Box' at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul to coincide with the League of Legends (LoL) World Championship (Worlds) finals. This provided opportunities to experience game content from small and medium-sized game companies and operated a Seoul sports experience booth that promoted Seoul's professional sports teams and offered mini-games.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

This is based on the judgment that the game and e-sports sectors have been maintaining steady growth and contributing to the creation of new job roles. According to Seoul’s analyzed projections, the domestic game industry grew at an average annual rate of 8.8% from 2013 to 2022, which is more than 10 times the global average growth rate of 0.9% in 2022.

Attention is also focused on the accelerating 'e-sports transformation,' where games are expanding into various fields such as dramas, movies, leagues, and theme parks. A Seoul city official explained, "Games are a highly employment-friendly industry compared to other sectors," adding, "It is also characterized as a profession favored by the younger generation."

Seoul has not been without support so far. It has provided tailored support for game companies’ development cycles and operated the 'Seoul Game Contents Center,' a specialized incubating facility for games. Since 2019, over 350 companies have received such support, with investments totaling 9 billion KRW. However, the scope of Seoul city’s support has been insufficient compared to the number of game companies based in Seoul, revealing limitations in effectiveness. While there are over 700 game companies located in Seoul, the city’s related budget is only 3.3 billion KRW. This is a significant difference compared to Busan, which supports 63 companies with over 10 billion KRW.

The area Seoul plans to focus on going forward is establishing a support system for the 'e-sports transformation' of games. This is a key sector to grow Seoul’s game industry size from about 9.1 trillion KRW in 2022 to a 12 trillion KRW market by 2028. The focus is on the expansion of related industries through publicity rights-based businesses such as broadcasting rights, ticket sales, sponsorships, and non-fungible token (NFT) cards, as well as entertainment businesses utilizing player teams and tourism, all emerging as games evolve into e-sports.

Support will also be provided for legal and regulatory matters related to games, as well as appropriateness testing and quality assurance of content. Technical support related to servers will be offered as well. In the mid to long term, opportunities to participate on the global stage for overseas expansion will be provided, along with assistance for localization efforts.

Customized support will also begin for small startups that find it difficult to build competitiveness. This aims to provide collaboration opportunities between small startups and large or medium-sized enterprises, with plans to support commercialization funds after matching processes and proposal reviews.

Starting next year, Seoul will focus on cultivating specialized professionals in the game and e-sports fields. For youth aged 19 to 39, cooperation with professional educational institutions will be established, and a game-specialized academy of about 500㎡ will be created within the Game Hub to nurture 120 experts annually. A dedicated steering committee will be formed to concentrate on preparing for the 'Seoul Game & e-Sports Week' scheduled for the second half of the year.

Previously announced funding support measures will be operated with more specific targets and scales. A representative example is the 1 trillion KRW 'Creative Industry Fund' mentioned by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in his New Year’s address earlier this year. Seoul plans to invest 60 billion KRW in companies and projects that meet investment criteria located in Seoul. Loans for small business development funds will also be provided up to 300 million KRW per company.

Additionally, the core of the 'Game Contents Creative Hub' utilizing the Sangam DMC Esplex Center will be announced soon. Currently, part of the Esplex Center Synergyum is used as a game and e-sports support facility, but plans to remodel the space to utilize the entire building are under discussion. A Seoul city official stated, "Seoul has a concentrated infrastructure including e-sports stadiums, broadcasting stations, player teams, and game publishers, giving it high competitiveness to leap forward as a global e-sports city," adding, "Based on this, we will spare no investment to raise the potential for co-growth with related industries."