A recently proposed bill that defined online video games as an addictive substance and put it in the same category with drugs and gambling is arousing backlash from the video game industry.
Lawmakers on Tuesday proposed a bill aimed to deal with problems caused by the four so-called major addictive substances: drugs, alcohol, gambling and online games. The move is in line with the Park Geun-hye administration’s policy to tackle social problems brought on by addiction.
“In the light of increasing addiction-induced problems, the country needs to reconsider its stance on addiction-inducing industries, such as alcohol, online games and gambling," said Saenuri Party’s Shin Eui-jin, one of 14 coauthors of the bill.
“The enactment of this bill will mark the starting point of a policy change which will prioritize addiction prevention and management of problems caused by addiction.”
The controversial bill includes the installment of a state-run committee that will cope with social, financial problems caused by addiction.
The video game industry furiously opposes the new bill, arguing that unlike other substances, there is no scientific proof that video games cause addiction.
“What is disputable is that (the bill) groups online games along with other addictive materials that clearly need medical treatment,” said an anonymous industrial source. The source voiced concern that when put into effect, the bill may become another regulation that “strangles the throat” of the video game industry.
Some scholars said there is little significance in regulating video games without first verifying their harmful effects.
Psychology professor Han Doug-hyun from Choong-Ang University Hospital said last week that contrary to conventional wisdom, video games sometimes actually enhance certain brain functions.
He pointed out that how video games are seen in Korean society has more to do with social perception than scientific evidence.
“People are proud of a child playing ’Baduk (Go)’ for 10 hours, but they say a child playing video games for five hours is an addict,” Han said.
By Yoon Min-sik
(
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)
