Despite the huge popularity of gaming in South Korea, not everyone is pleased by how widespread they’ve become.
A few legislators in the country have stated during a public hearing last week that they plan to push forward a plan that would classify online games as a “poison,” attempting to subsequently tax the industry up to one percent of its sales. These funds would be turned around to create a fund to pay for the treatment of online addiction. Considering it’s an $8 billion dollar a year industry, that’s quite a bit.
K-IDEA, a trade association within the industry, has responded, stating that the bill could be the death of Korea’s gaming industry, with other individual companies also joining in the cause. 80,000 signatures have already been gathered against the bill by the online team at Nexon.
Note that only a few legislators are supporting the bill at the moment. Others, including Korean president Park Geun-hye, still see the gaming industry as one of the most important in South Korea, and wishes for support, rather than the rebranding as “poison.”
Source: GamesInAsia
