Please tell me about the types of violations of the Game Industry Promotion Act.

The Game Industry Promotion Act imposes strict regulations across the entire process of game production, distribution, and operation in order to foster a healthy game culture and prevent the spread of speculative games.

Therefore, if a game company engages in the following acts, it may be subject to criminal punishment or administrative sanctions.

① Provision of speculative games and illegal currency exchange

Under the Game Industry Promotion Act, speculative acts using game products are strictly prohibited.

If you cause others to engage in gambling or other speculative acts using game products, or if you encourage speculation, you may be punished.

The level of punishment is set as imprisonment for up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50 million won under Articles 28 and 44 of the Act.

② Distribution of game products without rating classification

All game products must receive rating classification from the Game Rating and Administration Committee before official service.

If a game is determined to be a speculative game during rating classification, the rating classification may be denied.

In this case, distributing a game whose rating classification has been denied corresponds to imprisonment for up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50 million won under Articles 21 and 44 of the Game Industry Promotion Act.

③ Operation of unregistered or illegal game arcades

Under the Game Industry Promotion Act, in order to operate a game arcade business, you must register with the relevant local authority as either a general game provider or a youth game provider.

If this is violated, imprisonment for up to 2 years or a fine of up to 20 million won is imposed under Articles 26 and 45 of the Act.

Accordingly, if you suspect a possible legal violation during game planning or operation, it is safer to consult an entertainment attorney with extensive experience in game industry cases.