Amendment to the Game Industry Act Passed by the National Assembly: 'Relaxation of Mandatory Reporting for Game Content Modifications'

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that the partial amendment to the Act on the Promotion of the Game Industry (Game Industry Act) passed the National Assembly plenary session on the 20th. The amended bill includes provisions such as easing the obligation to report content modifications of game materials, relaxing the criteria for designating self-rating classification operators, expanding the scope of private consignment for rating classification tasks to include games restricted to youth, and restricting business closure reports during administrative sanction periods.

The Ministry explained that the purpose of this amendment is to eliminate unnecessary regulations and expand the autonomy of the game industry to promote the development of South Korea's game industry. Additionally, the amendment reflects the contents of the '2024~2028 Comprehensive Plan for the Promotion of the Game Industry' announced last year.

According to the amendment, reporting obligations for content modifications will be exempted for minor matters that clearly do not affect the existing rating classification decision. The game industry has long voiced the need to improve the system, as reporting content modifications caused unnecessary administrative burdens.

Furthermore, the amendment allows reporting to be done in advance as well as after content modifications, which was previously only possible after changes, thereby enhancing convenience for the game industry. However, games that simulate gambling, which have a high risk of turning into gambling games, must still report content modifications as before. Arcade games (games provided to youth game providers and general game providers) must also report content modifications except for changes in appearance.

The criteria for designating self-rating classification operators have also been relaxed. The criterion regarding the 'appropriateness of plans contributing to the development of the game industry and the creation of a sound game culture,' which was less relevant to the operator's duties, has been removed from the designation review standards. The 'sales amount' criterion has been expanded to 'sales amount or capital.' The re-designation period for self-rating classification operators has been extended from 3 years to 5 years, and the annual performance evaluation required in the year of re-designation will be replaced by the re-designation review, reducing the burden on companies.

This amendment includes youth-restricted games in the scope of private consignment for rating classification tasks. This is part of the institutional improvement process for the phased transfer of game rating classification to the private sector. Once the phased transfer is completed, the Game Rating and Administration Committee plans to focus on post-management of game materials. However, arcade games and gambling-simulating games, which have a high risk of turning into gambling games, will continue to have their rating classification tasks handled by the Game Rating and Administration Committee as before.

While expanding private sector autonomy, the amendment also includes measures to enhance accountability. As part of this, the required education hours for executives and employees of private rating classification agencies have been increased from 10 hours to 20 hours, and the obligation to prepare minutes related to rating classification decisions and related meetings has been stipulated by law.

Additionally, to improve convenience for civil petitioners, the period for business closure reports has been extended from 7 days to 30 days. If a game business operator fails to report after closure, the relevant local government can request necessary information from the competent tax office chief to delete the registration ex officio.

To ensure the effectiveness of administrative sanctions, the amendment stipulates that business closure reports cannot be submitted during the period of administrative sanctions such as business suspension or while related procedures are ongoing. Previously, game business operators who were caught for illegal acts such as illegal modification of game machines frequently submitted closure reports to evade administrative sanctions, but this amendment will prevent such cases.

Minister Yoo In-chon stated, "The goal of this amendment is to reduce the burden on the industry and expand private sector autonomy to enhance the competitiveness of South Korea's game industry," adding, "The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will continue to improve unnecessary regulations to support the development of the game industry."