South Korea to require local representatives for foreign gaming companies

The move is part of a revision of the Game Industry Promotion Act.

South Korea.- The government of South Korea has announced that foreign gaming companies will be required to appoint a local representative. The new rule will apply from October 23 under a revision of the Game Industry Promotion Act.

The requirement will apply to foreign companies that had annual sales of KRW1tn (US$700m) last year or had an average of at least 100,000 Korean users in the last three months of the year. Some other companies may need to appoint a representative if they have been involved in incidents affecting users in the past or are considered to pose a significant risk.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Game Rating and Administration Committee will notify the companies that need to assign a representative. The move is intended to ensure companies follow regulatory requirements.

According to The Korean Herald, representatives will need to follow the Game Industry Promotion Act, which includes rules against “speculative gaming content” (games with gambling features), and will have to provide guidelines on sharing probability information.

If local representatives break the law, they will face legal responsibility. Companies that must appoint a local representative but fail to do so may be fined up to KRW20m (US$14,000).

In South Korea, gambling is mostly illegal for citizens, with exceptions like Kangwon Land and government-approved lotteries. For full-year 2024, Kangwon Land posted net income of KRW455.38bn (US$317.0m), a rise of 33.6 per cent when compared to the previous year.