Minister Choi Hui-young of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (hereinafter referred to as MCST) held the 3rd Game Division meeting of the Culture and Arts Policy Advisory Committee at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul on October 20.

During this meeting, the results of the 2027 government budget allocation for the game sector and support directions are being shared with the game industry. To ensure that the allocated budget has a practical impact in the field, project promotion directions and institutional improvement statuses are also discussed, while gathering industry opinions on areas requiring additional support.

The meeting was attended by six game division members (in alphabetical order): Kim Young-man (President of KeSPA), Yoo Seung-hyun (CEO of Wonder Potion), Lee Seung-hoon (Professor at Anyang University), Cho Young-ki (Chairman of Korea Games Industry Association), Hwang Sung-ik (Chairman of Korea Mobile Game Association), and Hwang Seung-heum (Professor at Kookmin University).

First, to discover next-generation K-games targeting the global market, a global frontier production support project (6 billion won in '27) will be newly established. In '27, two games will be selected, each receiving 3 billion won. Selected games can receive up to a total of 6 billion won for a maximum of two years. MCST explained that moving beyond production support centered on small and medium-sized games, this will support games with large production scales (production costs of approximately 10 to 40 billion won) to strengthen the backbone of the game industry.

The budget to strengthen the indie game creation foundation will also be expanded from 9.3 billion won this year to 13.8 billion won based on next year's government proposal, and the project support scale will be increased from 130 indie games to 200. Considering that the demand for support projects increased after changing the project to a competitive (audition) method for the first time this year (competition rate of approximately 11:1), the plan is to expand support opportunities next year and improve operational substance by supplementing evaluation schedules and personnel.

The youth internship program will also be expanded. The budget of 1 billion won this year will be increased to 6.6 billion won in next year's government proposal, supporting up to 500 youth interns in '27.

The budget for the Global Game Hub Center, which helps create production environments for small and medium-sized game companies, will be increased from 4.1 billion won this year to 6.4 billion won in next year's government proposal, planning to support move-in spaces for up to 70 companies (50 companies this year) next year.

10.7 billion won is allocated for distribution support, including the export-specialized voucher project Game Plus and participation in overseas game expos. Support to revitalize the industry (9.3 billion won in '27) will also be continued by expanding the grassroots e-sports ecosystem through the expansion of regional e-sports leagues to broaden the base of e-sports.

During this meeting, the current status of game industry institutional improvements was also discussed with the advisory members. MCST is implementing emergency blocking of illegal game private servers, shortening the period from discovery to blocking request from a maximum of 15 days to currently 3 to 5 days.

Cooperation with the National Assembly is also underway to pass the amendment to the Promotion of the Game Industry Act related to illegal game private servers proposed last July, and a budget for introducing a system that automatically blocks illegal game content (1.6 billion won, new) has also been reflected in the '27 government proposal.

The main contents of the amendment include the introduction of punitive damages (up to 5 times), the introduction of an emergency blocking system, the addition of content delivery network (CDN) operators to the targets capable of corrective orders, and the strengthening of prior blocking and post-sanctions for illegal game private server operations, such as raising punishment levels and non-punishable offense regulations.

Minister Choi Hui-young of MCST stated, "As South Korea's imagination and technological prowess expand within the experiences of people worldwide, K-games are leading the global spread and export of K-culture. For the continuous development of the industry, it is crucial to create an ecosystem where games based on diverse ideas are created and companies and talent grow together," adding, "Since next year's government proposal contains the necessary support in the field ranging from game production to young talent, we will continue to strengthen the growth foundation of the game industry."