Upon checking, it wasn't just OTK Games Korea that received the official document. Apparently, most major game companies received similar documents.
I didn't quite understand and asked, "But why is the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family sending this? Isn't gaming a cultural industry, handled by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism?"
Taek-gyu, well-versed in these matters, explained, "Game regulations are effectively under the purview of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF)."
"Why?"
"The Youth Protection Commission is under MOGEF. That's why MOGEF takes the lead on the Shutdown Law, the System for Sound Use of the Internet by Youth, determinations of media harmful to youth, and so on."
I reread the official document carefully. The very first clause was rather baffling. "Limit connection time to 4 hours to guarantee adolescents' right to sleep and study? Didn't you say the Shutdown Law already exists?"
Taek-gyu explained. The Shutdown Law prevents adolescents under 16 from accessing online games between midnight and 6 AM. If they are logged in before that time, they are forcibly logged out.
Imagine raiding a boss monster together, and the healer is a middle school student? The moment it hits midnight, the healer gets kicked out, and the other characters, unable to receive heals, get wiped out. This actually happened frequently in online games, leading to the practice of checking ages before starting cooperative play like raids or group battles near midnight.
"A few years ago, an e-sports match got delayed, and when it went past midnight, the Korean gamer had to forfeit."
"What is this, Cinderella?"
"Yeah. That's why it's also called the Cinderella Law."
"..."
This incident received significant international media coverage and was recorded as one of the most absurd events in e-sports history.
Korea's game industry is dominated by online games. Therefore, the Shutdown Law dealt a direct blow to the industry. However, the Shutdown Law only applied to online games, excluding console or mobile games. Some game companies deliberately increased sexual content and violence to get an adults-only (19+) rating or moved overseas to avoid regulations.
Game companies continuously raised fairness issues regarding this problem, and MOGEF recently proposed a solution.
"How?"
"They said they'll implement the Shutdown Law for console and mobile games too in the future."
"..."
Truly a genius solution.
"Anyway, if they limit it to 4 hours, isn't that basically telling them not to play games at all?"
Beneath it, there was even a kind explanation about a "cooling-off" system, requiring disconnection every 2 hours and allowing reconnection only once after a 10-minute break.
I flipped through a few more pages and couldn't contain my bewilderment.
1. Prohibition of productions and expressions presenting uniform appearance standards in games.
13-1. Avoid presenting uniform desirable appearance standards.
- Uniform appearance standards are being indiscriminately emphasized in games. If all characters appear as handsome men and beautiful women, there is concern it could foster lookism among adolescent players.
13-2. Avoid having an excessive proportion of female characters with similar appearances.
- The age and appearance of female characters in games lack diversity. Most female characters are aged 10-20, with clear skin, thin bodies, feminine hairstyles, and revealing outfits. Please diversify this by age and appearance.
"What is this nonsense?"
It wasn't that there were no necessary clauses. Who would object to protecting adolescents, preventing game addiction, and regulating gambling elements? But most of the clauses were absurd and baffling. To comply with all the regulations listed here, they would have to overhaul the entire game, starting from character design.
Fortunately, this was a 'Request for Cooperation on Self-Regulation,' not a corrective order. It wasn't legally binding, so compliance wasn't mandatory. But when a company receives such an official document from a relevant ministry, who could possibly ignore it?
Taek-gyu said furiously, "This will inevitably lead to self-censorship! It's government oppression forcing us to restrict creative freedom ourselves!"
"Okay, okay, calm down a bit."
It was rare for him to get this angry. The guy who laughed even when arrested and handcuffed was now furious about game regulations.
***
We held a video conference with OTK Games.
Ichikawa Shigeru, having received the report from OTK Games Korea, was incredulous. "What does it mean, 'avoid having female characters with similar appearances'? I've worked in this industry for over 20 years, and this is the first time I've heard of a government pointing out that game characters are beautiful girls and demanding changes."
I sighed. "Actually, it's the first time I've heard it too."
"What kind of organization is that place exactly, sending documents like this?"
"..."
How could I explain this to a foreigner?
Ichikawa Shigeru is the father of the Lost Fantasy series. And this Lost Fantasy Online was a masterpiece he poured his heart and soul into creating. To a creator, a game is like their child. The suggestion to modify it to suit the government's taste was, in itself, an insult.
He stated firmly, "I am aware of the issues regarding gambling, sexual content, and violence, and we reflected these concerns during development. I would rather suspend service in Korea than accept such ridiculous demands for modification."
Taek-gyu nodded. "I feel the same way. It's better not to release the game at all than to mess it up like that."
At those words, President Ichikawa looked slightly touched. Indeed, what investor would say such a thing?
"I'll take care of this matter, so please don't worry about it and focus on your work."
"Understood."
***
I investigated the background behind MOGEF sending such a document. And I quickly grasped the situation.
Serious regulations on online games began during the Park Si-hyeong administration. The government designated gaming, along with alcohol, drugs, and gambling, as the four major addictions and implemented the Shutdown Law as a measure to prevent game addiction among adolescents.
"I get that games, alcohol, drugs, and gambling are the four major addictions, but why isn't tobacco included?"
"Don't know. Maybe the President played an online game once and declared, 'That game is harmful.'"
"..."
Anyway, despite opposition from game companies and adolescents, these policies gained significant public support. Buoyed by this, the ruling party at the time, the Hangukgadang (now the Free People's Party), proposed the 'Act on Prevention and Healing Support for Internet Game Addiction'. The name sounded plausible, but the content was riddled with all sorts of game regulations.
Fortunately, this bill failed to pass the National Assembly and was automatically discarded with the end of the term. However, Assemblywoman Lee Jung-hye, Assemblywoman Yeon Nakyeong, and other Free People's Party members recently reintroduced the bill! Several members of the New Politics Party also co-sponsored or supported the bill.
Game companies, which had been secretly hoping for deregulation with the change in government, were struck by lightning. Moreover, with the new Minister of Gender Equality and Family, Shin Jeon-mi (a New Politics Party assemblywoman), strongly supporting it, the possibility of the bill passing was higher than ever.
So, why is MOGEF so keen on game regulation? There are two main reasons.
First, it's the easiest way to gain support. Regulating games pleases parents. Regardless of political leaning (progressive or conservative), all parents in Korea dislike their children playing games. And parents are precious voters with voting rights, while minors do not have voting rights.
I nodded. "Speaking of which, back in the day, my mom used to worry a lot about me hanging out with you."
Taek-gyu was surprised. "What? Why?"
"She said after meeting you, I stopped studying and only played games."
Oh Taek-gyu was the reason I got hooked on games. Well, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have played the MMORPG Ruthenia, and then I wouldn't have sold my character to exchange for Vant Coin. When you think about it, online games are what made the current OTK Company possible!
Taek-gyu said defensively, "You still got into Hankuk University!"
"Thinking back, I think that's because I went to a different high school than you."
"..."
Second is money. Every ministry needs money to wield power. That's why the Minister of Strategy and Finance, who handles the budget, also serves as the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and ranks highest among all ministers. And other departments fiercely compete to secure their budgets.
The absolute core of this bill is money. According to the bill, funds are to be raised for establishing internet game addiction treatment centers, and the Minister of Gender Equality and Family is responsible for securing these funds. To this end, the MOGEF Minister can collect funds from internet game-related businesses within a range of up to 1% of their annual revenue.
Not 1% of net profit, but 1% of revenue!
Although game companies have high profit margins relative to revenue, 1% of revenue is an enormous amount. Theoretically, funds could even be collected from companies operating at a loss. On top of this, if violations are found, additional fines of up to 5% of revenue can be imposed!
Are there more game addicts or smartphone addicts in the world? Obviously, smartphone addicts. But funds aren't collected from smartphone manufacturers based on their revenue. Money isn't collected from A-Tube for video addiction or from Facenote for SNS addiction. Yet, such regulations are uniquely imposed on games because they are the easiest target.
If the regulations were applied to the maximum extent, most game companies would go bankrupt. Of course, unless the government is determined to kill the game industry, they probably wouldn't go that far...
Taek-gyu shook his head. "You say that because you don't know the current MOGEF Minister. Don't you feel anything after seeing this document?"
"..."
I did feel something.
Once the bill passes, the MOGEF Minister will gain the power to control game companies at will. Then, game companies will have no choice but to create games while constantly watching MOGEF's mood.
"Hearing that, it certainly seems like a serious problem."
In addition, the bill included content to strengthen the Shutdown Law. Currently, it applies to those under 16, from midnight to 6 AM (six hours). But according to the new bill, the age limit would be raised to under 19, and the duration extended to nine hours, from 10 PM to 7 AM. At this point, it's practically telling minors not to play games at all.
Furthermore, all games must undergo measurement of their internet addiction inducement index before release. If the index is high, distribution can be prohibited. Even more absurdly, the index must be remeasured whenever a patch or update is released.
"What the..."
Game addiction is a serious problem, and solutions must be found. But games and drugs are different. Drugs are illegal and harmful in themselves, so while treating addiction, the industry itself must be eradicated through strict regulation. Games, however, have a positive function as a hobby and entertainment that fills people's leisure time. But recent bills effectively define games as a social evil. If all games are treated as harmful and regulated just because game addicts exist, the entire industry could collapse.
Regulations exist in every country, but Korea's are particularly severe. Korean companies have no choice but to follow government policies. However, foreign companies are relatively free. From our perspective, there are plenty of ways to circumvent this.
Lost Fantasy Online doesn't have servers in Korea. It just has a Korean corporation established for official service. The simultaneous release in Korea happened only because Taek-gyu made it a condition when investing in OTK Games; the Korean market isn't necessarily that crucial. Ichikawa Shigeru aimed for global success from the development stage. Indeed, Lost Fantasy M was popular not only in Asia but also in North America and Europe, and interest in Lost Fantasy Online had significantly increased.
Therefore, they could simply withdraw the Korean corporation and stop the service. People who want to play the game could connect to foreign servers and create accounts. There would be limitations in marketing and events, but that wouldn't be a major issue. At least it would be better than confronting MOGEF head-on.
However, Taek-gyu thought differently. "Trying to kill the game industry with such ridiculous regulations. We can't just stand by!"
"If we don't stand by?"
Taek-gyu clenched his fists and shouted, "We must fight against unfair regulations to the end!"
I said, bewildered, "Since when were you so full of fighting spirit?"
"From this very moment! This is the moment!"
"..."
He looked ready to belt out a musical number.
Instead of singing, Taek-gyu called Team Leader Jung Gi-hong, who had just returned from his honeymoon.
I greeted him. "You look radiant as a newlywed. Did you enjoy your honeymoon?"
"Yes. Thanks to the CEO and Vice President, I had a wonderful time. I never imagined I'd get to fly on a private jet in my life. It felt like a dream. The sea in Cancun was so beautiful, every morning Hyun-jung and I started the day expressing gratitude for the CEO and Vice President's consideration..."
Taek-gyu cut him off. "Save the details for later. Make a Buster Call to the major domestic game companies immediately."
Naturally, he didn't understand. "What's a Buster Call?"
"Call them all to gather. We're initiating collective action now."
"Huh? Suddenly gather the game companies?"
I nodded. "Just do as he says."
Taek-gyu was fired up. It had been a while since I saw him this motivated. There was no stopping Oh Taek-gyu now!
"Alright. Do whatever you want."
People should live doing what they want to do.