Source: KRAFTON

The Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA, President Kim Young-man) announced on Monday the 13th that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with KRAFTON (CEO Kim Chang-han) to jointly promote school esports and facilitate its integration into the institutional sports system.

The signing ceremony was held at the KeSPA headquarters on Monday the 13th, with officials from both organizations in attendance, including KeSPA Secretary General Kim Cheol-hak and KRAFTON Division Head Park Soo-yong.

Through this partnership, the two companies plan to establish a close cooperative framework to ensure that domestic esports titles secure a firm position within both domestic and international institutional sports systems. To this end, they will form a joint steering committee to enhance the overall efficiency of school esports initiatives. Furthermore, they aim to strengthen the sustainability of the esports industry by activating a player development pipeline that connects amateur talent to professional competition.

Additionally, they intend to create the necessary conditions for domestic IP to be adopted as official events in the National Sports Festival, supporting the institutionalization of esports. They will also share a roadmap for entering the international stage, including the Olympic Esports Games (OEG). The plan is to build an institutional foundation that allows talented individuals to grow into internationally competitive athletes. The agreement is set for a three-year term.

KeSPA Secretary General Kim Cheol-hak stated, "This agreement will serve as a major turning point for domestic esports titles to secure a unique position within the institutional sports system at home and abroad. Together with KRAFTON, we will strengthen the substance of school esports programs and build a robust pipeline from amateur to national representative levels, providing a foundation for our players to grow into global talent."

KRAFTON PUBG Esports Division Head Park Soo-yong said, "Building on the trust we have developed with the association over the past seven years through PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, we are delighted to embark on this initiative to revitalize school esports. We hope to create a systematic environment where students can learn healthy sportsmanship through esports and eventually grow into professional players. We will also do our utmost to ensure that our domestic IP, PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, becomes established as a world-class official sport."