Public-Private Consultative Body Fails to Find Common Ground Between Industry and Medical Sectors
Unable to Reach Consensus; Only Individual Positions Submitted
Diverging Views Persist... Considering a Public Hearing in the Future
The public-private consultative body, which has been discussing whether to include gaming disorder in the national disease classification code for about six years, ultimately failed to reach an agreement and has been dissolved.
According to the National Assembly and the gaming industry on October 5, the consultative body decided at its 13th meeting held in Jung-gu, Seoul in February to submit only the individual positions of each committee member to the National Statistical Office, on the premise that a unified stance of 'support' or 'opposition' could not be reached.
In effect, the attempt to reach a consensus has collapsed after six years. This is because the industry and the psychiatric community failed to find common ground despite prolonged discussions.
Gaming disorder refers to a condition in which excessive and repeated use of digital games causes serious disruption to daily life.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the psychiatric community have consistently maintained that gaming disorder should be classified as a disease, following the World Health Organization's decision to add it to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), and have insisted on introducing the disease code accordingly.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the gaming and content industries have opposed the introduction of the disease code, arguing that the WHO's decision lacks sufficient medical evidence and that the gaming industry, which accounts for 70% of content exports, would suffer significant damage.
Meanwhile, at the final meeting, Statistics Korea reportedly expressed the view that, under WHO regulations, it is impossible to introduce only some codes from the ICD into the domestic system while excluding others.
The consultative body has not scheduled any further meetings. It has decided to consider holding a public hearing, led by the Office for Government Policy Coordination, to openly discuss whether to introduce the disease code for gaming disorder.
An official from the National Assembly familiar with the situation said, "There is a clear difference in position between the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and both the Office for Government Policy Coordination and Statistics Korea are reluctant to take responsibility for reaching a conclusion due to the risks involved, so they are passing the responsibility to each other. Even if a public hearing is held, the final decision will have to be made by the National Assembly or the Office of the President."
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