On October 23, Representative Kim Seung-soo of the People Power Party urged the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to expand government support for esports. Rep. Kim explained that among member organizations of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, the Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) receives the least support. According to Rep. Kim, while governing bodies for football, baseball, and basketball receive nearly 8 billion won annually, KeSPA received approximately 90 million won.
During the comprehensive parliamentary audit of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee at the National Assembly on this day, Rep. Kim asked Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young which governing sports body receives the least government support. When Minister Choi responded that he was unsure, Rep. Kim pointed to KeSPA. He highlighted that despite esports being a "medal-winning staple" that brought home 4 medals at the Asian Games, there is a large discrepancy in support among sports organizations. He went on to request that support be increased for medal-winning or emerging sports so they are not marginalized, ensuring fairness.
Rather than attacking the government, the questioning focused on highlighting the current state of affairs and calling for solutions. Rep. Kim cited Virtual Taekwondo, which was newly adopted for the Nagoya Asian Games, as an example. He pointed out that while Korea is the birthplace of Taekwondo, it is lagging behind in Virtual Taekwondo to the point where it can hardly be called the country of origin. He stated, "To become an AI powerhouse, we must also actively pay attention to the sports sector."
He also brought up structural issues in the gaming industry. Rep. Kim diagnosed that as the domestic gaming industry grew centered around mobile games, arcade games and indie games became relatively weak. He added that he understands the Lee Jae-myung administration is focusing its gaming policy on fostering competitiveness in areas that have been lacking.
Rep. Kim further pointed out that the PC bang industry is facing double and triple hardships. He argued that on top of the emergence of pseudo-businesses like "gametels," commercial practices with major game publishers have also become a burden. Rep. Kim claimed that Riot Games launched a new premium service and blocks access to its other games if a PC bang refuses it. Comparing this to franchise headquarters abusing power over franchisees, he criticized that it places an even heavier burden on already struggling PC bangs.
Rep. Kim also demanded specific answers from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. He asked whether the ministry had ever investigated unfair business practices between PC bangs and major game publishers, or devised measures against them. He also inquired whether the ministry, alongside relevant government agencies, had ever cracked down on pseudo-businesses like gametels and speculative gambling-like game rooms, and whether there are plans for future crackdowns.
Minister Choi replied, "I will personally oversee esports support." He explained, "Esports continues to grow," adding, "As the committee chairman mentioned earlier, there are also tasks such as turning domestic games into esports and urgently bringing them under the umbrella of sports."
Regarding the PC bang issue, Minister Choi promised to assess the situation. He acknowledged that the environment for playing games, including PC bangs, is poor and that they are suffering additional damage from unfair practices. He then stated, "We will quickly assess the situation and establish corrective measures."
