When President Lee Jae-myung said at the K-game on-site meeting on Oct. 15 that "games are not an addictive substance," applause and cheers broke out at the scene. Associations and groups related to Korea's game industry issued statements saying they "welcome" the president's remark that games are not a disease.
Groups including the Korea Association of Game Industry, Korea Mobile Game Association, Korea Artificial Intelligence Game Association, Korea Game Users Association, Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA), Korea Game Developers Association, Korea Indie Game Association, Game Culture Foundation, and Game Talent Foundation issued a joint statement on Oct. 20 saying this.
The game industry groups said, "We have long fought social prejudice that views games as a disease," and added, "As the debate over introducing the World Health Organization (WHO)'s 'gaming disorder' disease code domestically continued for years, we faced many difficulties amid anxiety that the foundations of game culture and the industry could be shaken."
They continued, "In this situation, the president's remarks will put an end to the wasteful debate and, we believe, serve as an important opportunity for a shift in perception to view games as a member of our society's major cultural industries."
They also emphasized that it was even more meaningful that the president spoke with the intent that not only the game industry but also young people participating in game development and users who consume games should be considered, saying it was a healthy and balanced perspective that does not look at games only from the industrial-promotion angle.
They added, "As in the president's metaphor that 'you should not throw away a soy sauce jar just because there is a problem,' we will do our utmost so that our game industry can wisely resolve internal and external issues without avoiding them."
Earlier, at the K-game on-site meeting, the president met with industry officials and said, "It seems that in the past we ended up facing many difficulties as we got out of step with government policy," and added, "By defining games along with drugs as one of the four major addictions, the government pursued suppression policies instead of support, and as a result we were overtaken by China."