Game Industry Promotion Act | Defending a Client Charged with Violating the Game Industry Act Against a Custodial Sentence

The Game Industry Promotion Act is a statute enacted for the purpose of the sound distribution of game products, the protection of juveniles, and the sound development of the game industry.

The 🔗Game Industry Act strictly prohibits the act of distributing or providing a game product that has not received a rating classification, or providing a game product different from the content for which a rating classification was received.

A person who provides an unapproved game product may be subject to imprisonment for not more than one year or a fine not exceeding 10 million won.

In addition, a person who allows a game product to be used for gambling or fraudulent acts, or who provides speculativeness by offering prizes and the like, may be subject to imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine not exceeding 50 million won.

Representative examples of violations of the Game Industry Act are as follows.

The client acknowledged all of the alleged facts in the early stages of the investigation and showed an attitude of remorse for the wrongdoing.

In particular, immediately after the crackdown, the client ceased operations at once, terminated the lease for the internet cafe, and then took up a new job, making efforts to prevent reoffending.

The attorney in charge emphasized that the client had acknowledged the facts from the early stages of the investigation and was sincerely remorseful, and requested leniency.

The internet cafe that the client operated was very small in scale, with few computers installed, and was a small-scale business.

The period during which the client operated it as a business owner was also only about three months, and the actual profits were extremely small.

Most of the revenue was used up on staff wages, rent, and utility charges, and the actual profit the client obtained was very slight.

The attorney in charge emphasized that this was not a habitual or organized crime and requested leniency.

During the period of working as an employee, the client in fact merely performed the role of managing the computers and charging game money under the direction of the existing operator.

The responsible attorney emphasized that the client merely performed his duties under the direction of the operator and was not aware that it constituted a crime.

The punishment in a Game Industry Promotion Act violation case is not determined solely by whether illegal games were provided.

Various factors are comprehensively considered, such as the circumstances of the violation, the scale of operation, the profit structure, the suspect's level of awareness, and efforts to prevent recidivism, and if these circumstances cannot be persuasively explained to the investigative authorities and the court, excessive criminal punishment may result.

Drawing on the experience and know-how accumulated in handling Game Industry Promotion Act violation cases, Daeryun Law Firm provides defense strategies tailored to the client's situation.

The firm also operates branch offices in each region nationwide, maintains a 24-hour emergency consultation system 365 days a year, and provides a tailored video consultation service for clients who find it difficult to visit in person.

Anytime and anywhere, we recommend that you receive the assistance of the 🔗entertainment attorney at Daeryun, Korea's ninth-largest law firm (based on the 2025 value-added tax filings with the National Tax Service).