Ahead of the June 3 local elections, critics say the Busan mayoral candidates' game industry pledges lack effectiveness. G-Star, the country's largest game expo held in Busan every year, is facing a crisis with declining visitors and departing participants, yet the candidates have limited themselves to one-off pledges. People in the game industry said, "Busan seems to treat G-Star like a fish already caught, so attention and support are woefully lacking."
According to the policy book submitted to the National Election Commission on the 30th, Chun Jae-soo, the Democratic Party of Korea's Busan mayoral candidate, said, "We will build a strategic industrial ecosystem centered on high value-added service sectors (games, content, MICE)," and pledged to bring the e-sports Promotion Foundation to Busan.
The e-sports Promotion Foundation is an agency responsible for hosting e-sports tournaments and international exchanges, training players, and conducting industry surveys and research. Chun aims to use it to foster Busan as a hub for the e-sports industry.
However, industry voices question its effectiveness. Because the e-sports industry requires a comprehensive ecosystem spanning tournament operations, broadcasting, and teams, most major domestic e-sports leagues and tournaments are held in Seoul. Even BNK FearX, the Busan-based club, plays its matches in Seoul. Under these circumstances, they say it will be difficult to build a regional e-sports ecosystem by bringing in only the foundation.
Moreover, establishing the e-sports Promotion Foundation merely repeats a pledge presented by the Democratic Party's Busan campaign committee during last year's presidential election. Measures that the industry expected—such as plans to nurture the game industry, strategies to bolster G-Star's competitiveness, and approaches to attract game companies—were not included in the policy book.
Park Heong-joon, the People Power Party's Busan mayoral candidate, said he would bring a national e-sports tournament to Busanjin District as his game-related pledge. The pledge is known to target hosting a League of Legends (LoL) event. However, since major LoL tournaments are assigned by developer Riot Games through a regional rotation system, it is difficult to secure them on the will of a local government alone. Even if an event is held, the chances that it will lead to building a regional game industry ecosystem are not high.
Industry officials point out that while candidates focus on attracting e-sports events, it is hard to find plans to strengthen G-Star's competitiveness, which is the core issue for Busan's game industry. G-Star is Busan's signature event and the country's largest game expo, and it is confirmed to be held in Busan through 2028. According to the Busan city government, G-Star 2023 alone generated an economic ripple effect of 303.6 billion won.
But there is growing sentiment that G-Star is not as competitive as it once was. Last year's attendance was 202,000, down by more than 10,000 from the year before. Major game companies have also been pulling out: Nexon, which served as the main sponsor in 2024, skipped last year's event, and Pearl Abyss also did not participate.
A game industry official said, "It doesn't look easy to find a corporation willing to be the main sponsor this year, either," adding, "Busan enjoys significant economic benefits from G-Star, but it shows little will to strengthen the event's competitiveness."
This situation is disappointing in contrast with past elections. In the 2014 local elections, candidate Oh Geo-don announced the "eight pledges to promote the game industry," including elevating G-Star's stature, creating a game content industrial complex, and establishing a 10 billion won game content investment fund.
Some worry that if such indifference continues, G-Star could cede the lead to the Anime X Game Festival (AGF). AGF drew 100,518 visitors last year, growing about 40% from the previous year.
A game industry official said, "It's hard to understand why shuttle buses are provided for fireworks festivals or concerts but there are no particular support measures for G-Star."
An official from Park Heong-joon's campaign said, "We are aware that the Korea Association of Game Industry and participating companies are raising issues such as expense burdens and declining attendance," adding, "We are internally reviewing ways to expand related industries that could help G-Star."