Game Industry Promotion Act | With Daeryun's Help, a Client Accused of Violating the Game Industry Promotion Act Received a "Suspended Sentence"

The client worked as an employee at XX PC café for about one year and then took over the PC café from the owner.

In the meantime, he was suddenly reported to the police. The reason was that he allowed customers to use unrated slot games, casino games, and the like and, without any separate procedure for verifying real name or age, created IDs and had them charge game money.

This was an act clearly prohibited by the Game Industry Promotion Act.

The client had merely followed the instructions of the PC café owner and, upon taking over the PC café, simply maintained the previous practice as it was, and so he pleaded that he felt aggrieved and requested assistance from Daeryun.

The Game Rating and Administration Committee manages 🔗the game industry by classifying the usage ratings of game products, for the promotion of the game industry and the establishment of a sound game culture among the public.

▣ Game Industry Promotion Act, Article 21 (Rating Classification)

① A person who intends to manufacture or distribute a game product for the purpose of circulating it or providing it for use shall, before manufacturing or distributing the game product, obtain from the Committee or from a business operator designated under Article 21-2 (1) a rating classification regarding the content of that game product. Provided, that this shall not apply to a game product falling under any of the following:

1. A game product manufactured or distributed for the purpose of being used in or exhibited at a game competition or exhibition recommended by the head of a central administrative agency

2. A game product manufactured or distributed for purposes such as education, learning, religion, or public-interest publicity activities, as prescribed by Presidential Decree

3. A test game product for evaluating performance, safety, user satisfaction, and the like in the course of game product development, as a game product following the targets, standards, procedures, and the like prescribed by Presidential Decree

4. A game product manufactured or distributed not for profit, as prescribed by Presidential Decree. Provided, that a game product containing content falling under the standards for the youth-not-allowed rating under Article 2 (4) 4 shall be excluded.

The client, immediately upon recognizing his wrongdoing after being charged, halted all PC café operations, and from the police investigation stage he admitted all of the alleged facts and actively cooperated with the investigation.

He also resolved never to do anything like this again, and it was argued that there was no likelihood of reoffending, given that he is currently employed at an ordinary company and living diligently.

While working as an employee at the PC café, the client was merely a person carrying out work according to the owner's instructions, and for the last three months he did not even receive his wages.

In addition, because sales were not very good even after the client took over, the profits obtained were likewise only a small amount, and it was emphasized that the degree of his participation in the crime was very minor.

If you operate a game business, you must take care not to run afoul of violations of the Game Industry Promotion Act. Beyond allowing the use of unrated games, as in the client's case, cases in which people face the risk of punishment due to acts such as the manipulation of probabilities are not uncommon.

If you are charged with a related offense, you must defend against punishment by explaining the situation on the basis of appropriate evidentiary materials. Receiving the help of a specialist attorney is a wise approach.

At Daeryun LLC, 🔗the game industry specialist attorneys who have handled related legal matters actively assist clients on the basis of abundant experience, so if you need help, please request a 🔗legal consultation at any time.