▲ Justice Party Rep. Ryu Ho-jeong
Justice Party lawmaker Ryu Ho-jeong proposed the ‘Simplification Act on Game Modification Reporting’. The key is to exclude minor content modifications from reporting.
Current law requires that if a game product that has received a rating has its contents modified, it must be reported to the Game Management Committee within 24 hours. In case of violation, a fine of up to 10 million won is imposed. If the reported content has been modified to the extent that a change in rating is necessary, a new rating must be received in accordance with the procedures.
However, according to a survey by the Game Management Committee, out of over 3,000 game modification reports each year, only 10% of reports require a rating change. Even in the recent government audit, there were opinions that the current system needs to be improved to promote convenience for game companies and prevent waste of administrative power to process reports.
In particular, content modification reports are being made for items that do not affect the game rating, including item additions, option changes, character modifications, balance adjustments, and bug and error corrections. It takes 7 days for game companies to report and process, and it takes 2 to 3 weeks to supplement data.
Since there are no guidelines on the game, game companies report content modifications down to the smallest detail. This is to avoid being fined for not reporting. This is a problem that puts a burden on game companies and causes the Game Commission to waste administrative power. Six gaming committee employees are in charge of this task. Each person reviews approximately 550 cases per year. The person in charge of receiving content modification reports is considered one of the departments to be avoided within the Game Commission.
The purpose of the reporting process was to ensure that game companies could provide services without receiving new ratings when changes were made to the game content. However, unclear standards led to frequent administrative procedures and burdened game companies.
Through the amendment, Rep. Ryu made it possible to report even before modifying the content of the game, and excluded minor content modifications from reporting. This is to promote efficient operation of the game content modification reporting system.
In a recent government audit, Rep. Ryu told Game Management Committee Chairman Kim Gyu-cheol, “Reporting game content modifications is designed to prevent sensationalism and speculation, but contrary to the original purpose, game companies are reporting even simple font modifications or interface modifications, so the administrative power of the Game Commission is being wasted.” It has been pointed out. Chairman Kim Gyu-cheol responded, “It is true that contrary to the original intention, it is a burden on game companies and the Game Commission. If you help us revise it, we will prepare to handle it.”
