Source: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Choi Hwi-young held the second meeting of the Game Subcommittee of the Cultural and Arts Policy Advisory Committee on the 30th to discuss key issues, including the flexibilization of the '52-hour workweek' in the gaming sector. It has been pointed out that the rigid working hour system hinders global competitiveness, as the game industry is structured around projects that often require concentrated periods of intense work.

The government plans to consult with the Ministry of Employment and Labor to allow professionals in various roles, such as planning and graphics, to utilize the discretionary work system, which is currently limited to programmers under the Enforcement Decree of the Labor Standards Act. This measure aims to reflect industry demands, secure flexibility in working hours, and improve production efficiency. Minister Choi emphasized that as games account for over 60% of the nation's content exports, institutional support is urgently needed to foster industry growth.

The response system against illegal private game servers will also be strengthened. The blocking period for such servers has been reduced from 15 days to 5 days, with plans to further shorten it to as little as 1 day through the introduction of an automated system. The government will enhance cooperation with relevant agencies, including the National Police Agency, and expand the scope of blocking requests to include not only domestic network operators but also Content Delivery Network (CDN) providers to improve the effectiveness of copyright protection.

Efforts to introduce tax credits for game content production costs will also continue. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has submitted a tax expenditure proposal to the Ministry of Economy and Finance to alleviate the production burden on domestic companies and encourage investment, and it plans to continue related discussions. Additionally, in preparation for the 2027 budget, the committee gathered opinions on strategies to respond to changes in the artificial intelligence (AI) environment and ways to identify new projects to expand the industry's foundation.

The Cultural and Arts Policy Advisory Committee was launched under the direct authority of the Minister on November 10, 2025, and consists of nine subcommittees, including the Game Subcommittee. Members of the Game Subcommittee include industry, academic, and organizational representatives such as Bae Soo-jung, CEO of LoadComplete; Yoo Seung-hyun, CEO of Wonder Potion; Lim Soo-jin, Chief Business Officer of NC AI; Cho Young-ki, Chairman of the Korea Association of Game Industry; and Hwang Sung-ik, Chairman of the Korea Mobile Game Association.

Based on the discussions regarding labor flexibility and regulatory improvements from this meeting, the government intends to develop practical policies to actively support a resurgence of the game industry.