Minister Choi Hwi-young of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) is set to convene the second meeting of the Game Division under the Cultural and Arts Policy Advisory Committee on the morning of April 30th at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul. The agenda includes discussing key tasks for 'K-games' and formulating policies to support the resurgence of the game industry.

Launched last November 10th directly under the Minister's office, the Advisory Committee covers nine sectors, including pop music, film, and publishing. The game division includes industry representatives (Bae Soo-jung, Yoo Seung-hyun, Im Soo-jin), academic experts (Lee Seung-hoon, Hwang Seung-heum), and association leads (Jo Young-ki, Hwang Sung-ik, Kim Young-man).

In this second session, the committee will review the progress and future plans for major tasks raised during the first meeting, including ▲eradication of illegal private game servers, ▲flexibility in the 52-hour workweek for the game industry, and ▲the introduction of tax credits for game production costs.

Regarding illegal private game servers, the current 15-day blocking period has been reduced to 5 days, with plans to further shorten it to 1 day through an automated system. The ministry is strengthening coordination with the National Police Agency and other relevant organizations, and plans to expand the scope of blocking cooperation beyond domestic network operators to include Content Delivery Network (CDN) providers.

Regarding the flexibility of the 52-hour workweek in the game industry, the ministry plans to consult with the Ministry of Employment and Labor to ensure that roles such as planning and graphics, in addition to programmers, can be included under the discretionary labor system as defined by the Enforcement Decree of the Labor Standards Act, making the system more applicable in real-world settings.

As for tax credits for game production, the MCST has submitted a tax expenditure proposal to the Ministry of Economy and Finance and plans to continue consultations.

Ahead of next year's budget planning, the committee will discuss ways to develop new projects based on ideas for support measures needed in the field. They plan to collect opinions from members on support to broaden the foundation of the game industry, ways to enhance the competitiveness of game companies, and strategies to respond to environmental changes such as AI, with the goal of reflecting these in government budget projects.

Minister Choi Hwi-young stated, "For the growth of the game industry, which accounts for over 60% of our content exports, concentrated government investment and institutional support are more urgent than ever." He added, "We will continue to communicate with various field experts, including the Cultural and Arts Policy Advisory Committee Game Division, to prepare practical policy measures."