Representative Joo Jin-woo of the People Power Party urged the Constitutional Court to swiftly process the constitutional appeal regarding the Game Industry Promotion Act during a parliamentary audit conducted by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee. This marks the third time Rep. Joo has raised the issue during the annual audit, following 2024 and last year.
The clause in question is Article 32, Paragraph 2, Item 3 of the Game Industry Promotion Act, which prohibits the production and importation of game products that risk "disturbing social order by excessively depicting crime, violence, obscenity, or otherwise inciting criminal or copycat behavior." According to the petitioners, 210,751 individuals, including YouTuber Kim Sung-hoe, filed a constitutional appeal on October 8, 2024, claiming the provision is unconstitutional. The petition was led by the Korea Game Users Association. The case (2024Hun-Ma909) was referred to the Full Bench on January 7, 2025, and remains pending.
During questioning, Rep. Joo pointed out that the provision constitutes prior censorship and is overly vague. He criticized the Constitutional Court for leaving the case unresolved for over two years, stating that it reflects a desire to teach young people what games should be from the perspective of the establishment.
Rep. Joo displayed responses from the previous two parliamentary audits on screen. During the 2024 audit, Rep. Joo stated, "As many as 210,000 young people share this concern," and requested, "Please consider designating this for fast-track review." Kim Jeong-won, then-Secretary General of the Constitutional Court, replied, "Understood."
During last year's audit, when Rep. Joo followed up by saying, "At that time, it felt as though a decision would come out in a few months. Yet even now, no conclusion has been reached," Son In-hyuk, Secretary General of the Constitutional Court, replied, "I 100% empathize with the issue you are concerned about." Secretary General Son added, "Since all nine justices are now appointed, I believe the bench will take that into account and reach a decision in short order."
In this year's questioning, Rep. Joo demanded a clear stance for the youth, saying, "I believe this needs to be handled swiftly, but this is already the third time."
Secretary General Son apologized for causing concern and expressed regret for failing to process the trial quickly. However, he stated that statistics do not indicate delays caused by constitutional appeals against court decisions. He explained, "Since this is the first case where the principle of prior censorship is applied to video game content, I understand there is internal opinion to judge more cautiously," adding, "I understand that oral arguments will be conducted soon."
