The 'National Normalization Project' announced by the Government Policy Coordination Office includes 'Cracking Down on Private Game Servers'. The government is considering introducing an emergency blocking system similar to the one used for illegal webtoon sites and establishing new provisions for punitive damages.

On the 22nd, the Government Policy Coordination Office selected 164 primary tasks for its National Normalization Project. These tasks were chosen from over 500 proposals identified by departmental task forces, following the President's directive to 'build a nation where fundamentals are in place'. The selection process, overseen by the Prime Minister's Office's central task force, considered the appropriateness and urgency of each task. Any tasks not selected will still be pursued by their respective ministries as self-initiated projects.

The 'Crackdown on Illegal Private Game Servers' initiative is part of this project, with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) leading the charge. The government is exploring the introduction of punitive damages and fines for private game servers and plans to implement an emergency blocking system to enhance effectiveness. This emergency blocking system, already in place for illegal webtoon, web novel, and video streaming sites, allows for the swift blocking of distribution channels that infringe copyright.

The issue of private game servers was previously raised during last year's parliamentary audit. Representative Im Oh-kyung of the MCST committee revealed, based on data submitted by the Game Rating and Administration Committee (GRAC), that while 177,100 illegal private servers were detected over the past five years, only 61 individuals faced legal penalties during the same period. Of these, a mere five received prison sentences, with the remaining 56 handed down suspended sentences or fines. At the time, Representative Im argued, "The estimated damage to the domestic game industry from illegal private servers exceeds 2 trillion won (£1.14 billion)", advocating for stricter penalties and regulations.

Following this, the GRAC identified the illegal private server issue as a key priority for this year, pledging to swiftly devise institutional improvements centred on rapid blocking measures.