I instructed an employee via intercom. "Please organize the materials I ntioned and bring them to ."
[Yes, Sunbae... I an, CEO!]
Less than an hour later, Yuri ca up carrying a pile of docunts.
"Here you go."
"Good work."
Taek-gyu and I looked through the materials together.
The global ga market is currently worth about $180 billion. It's experiencing rapid growth exceeding 10% annually, and recently, the growth trend has accelerated further with the integration of new technologies like VR.
The Korean ga market size is approximately 15 trillion won. Exports increased by over 20% compared to the previous year, earning $8 billion last year alone. China accounts for half of the major export destinations. However, imports are also significant. The largest share of imports also cos from China.
"The idea that Chinese gas suck is old news. They've invested massively, and recent Chinese gas are believable even if you were told they were Korean or Japanese."
As the Chinese ga market grew, Chinese ga companies also grew at trendous speed. Like other sectors, Chinese ga companies leveraged their huge dostic market, governnt support, and technology copying to beco global players. Recently, Chinese gas hitting it big in Korea have beco increasingly common.
The most famous among these companies is WeChant. It's a comprehensive internet conglorate investing not only in gas but across the entire internet industry, including ssengers, SNS, and cloud services. Its influence in the gaming world is truly imnse; besides developing and publishing gas directly, it hosts the world's largest e-sports events and has acquired or holds stakes in famous ga companies in the US, Japan, and Korea. Its current market cap is 2.4 trillion yuan. It was once the top company in China and Asia, but has now yielded that position to Seoseong Electronics.
In its early days, WeChant went around to Korean ga companies, begging them for publishing rights. But now, the situation has reversed 180 degrees. Since the Chinese market holds an overwhelming share of Korean ga exports, dostic ga companies are now lining up in front of WeChant, begging them to publish their gas.
"Aren't ga regulations pretty strict in China these days too?"
"Even so, it's nothing compared to MOGEF's regulations. And their dostic market is enormous."
I continued examining the docunts.
MOGEF imposes regulations not just on the ga industry but across the entire cultural sector, including broadcasting, film, and music. They're trying to revive the pre-censorship system for music albums and strengthen standards for dia deed harmful to youth. Recently, they've even extended their reach to one-person broadcasting platforms like A-Tube, identifying violations of gender equality and announcing plans to issue guidelines and regulatory directives.
In fact, it's no exaggeration to say that regulation of the Korean cultural industry began with the history of the industry itself. Korea underwent military dictatorships and rapid industrialization, where economic growth was the supre goal. Therefore, elents hindering study and labor were targets for eradication. Before gas, comics (manhwa) were designated as harmful dia for youth, suffering all sorts of censorship and hardship. As a result, the Korean manhwa industry essentially collapsed, becoming dependent on Japanese manga imports. The manhwa market experienced a long stagnation until the webtoon market eventually opened up.
"Not all manhwa died out. There was one magic word that could transform 'delinquent comics,' supposedly scarier than tigers and smallpox, into excellent content."
"What was it?"
"Education."
"Ah..."
Manhwa is harmful and evil. But add 'education' to make 'educational manhwa,' and it becos beneficial and excellent. While the general manhwa market was devastated, the educational manhwa market was a veritable safe zone. That's how educational manhwa like 'Magical Thousand Character Classic' or 'Greek and Roman Mythology in Manhwa' could erge.
"The ga industry is incomparably larger than the manhwa industry. And unlike manhwa, which can be produced by individuals, gas require specialized personnel and huge capital investnt. Once the industry collapses, it's difficult to rebuild."
Naturally, regulations are necessary for any industry. The problem is the extent. Appropriate regulation ensures the soundness of an industry and provides a foundation for further growth, but excessive regulation nips it in the bud entirely.
It would be sowhat better if all countries worldwide imposed regulations together. But if only Korea imposes unusually severe regulations, it's like telling its industry to fight with its hands tied.
Let's say dostic ga companies are eradicated this way. Does that solve all problems? Not a chance. As the scale of ga industry imports and exports shows, the void left by dostic gas will naturally be filled by foreign gas. If MOGEF tried to apply the sa regulations to foreign companies, they would imdiately be sued at the WTO. Ultimately, excessive regulation only destroys the dostic ga industry without achieving anything positive.
***
OTK Company Headquarters Main Conference Room.
About 50 people entered the company's largest conference room. Representatives from ga companies who received Team Leader Jung Gi-hong's Buster Call had gathered secretly. LC Soft's CEO Kim Jin-taek, NA Gas' CEO Joo Won-hong, Letmarble's CEO Ha Yoo-sik, and so on. Major dostic ga companies—large corporations, Ss, listed companies, unlisted companies—were all present.
Taek-gyu, dressed in a grey tracksuit, sat at the head of the table, flanked by and Sang-yeop sunbae. Taek-gyu placed his elbows on the table, clasped his hands, and deliberately put on a serious deanor. While a few major ga company CEOs seed to recognize him from parties, most reacted with confusion.
'Who's that kid?'
'Why is soone who looks like a part-tir sitting there instead of Kang Jin-hoo?'
'Did we co to the wrong conference room?'
'Or could that person possibly be...?'
'No way...?'
Glances conveying roughly these thoughts were exchanged.
I stood up and introduced Taek-gyu. "This is Oh Taek-gyu, Vice President of OTK Company."
Except for a few, everyone was startled.
"Oh! The Vice President of OTK Company!"
"The one leading OTK Company's investnts in the cultural industry!"
"The very person who established the OTK Award for the developnt of subculture!"
The existence of OTK Company's Vice President was well-known in the ga industry. He was the one who invested in Ichikawa Shigeru and led Lost Fantasy M to success.
Once everyone was seated, Taek-gyu looked around at them and spoke. "I have gathered you all here today to listen to the difficulties facing the ga industry. It is a great pleasure to et in one place the developers of the gas I have enjoyed since childhood."
First was a round of self-introductions. Everyone took the microphone, stood up, and stated their nas. Taek-gyu listened quietly and then spoke. "The CEOs of Hoon Ga and Paming Ga. You two may leave."
The two n were stunned. "Excuse ?"
"Why is that?"
Taek-gyu stated flatly, "I do not consider Go-Stop and Poker to be gas. They are simply gambling. So please discuss those matters amongst yourselves."
Hoon Ga CEO Jang Soo-hwan argued defensively, "We also have Badugi!"
"......"
Anyone hearing that might think it was the board ga Go (Baduk). Although the two companies grew through Go-Stop, Poker, and Badugi, they were also actively investing in mobile and online gas to launder their image. It's just that those ventures all failed. The two n eagerly explained this point, and other ga company CEOs spoke up in their defense. Taek-gyu reluctantly allowed them to sit back down.
Self-introductions continued. It was now the turn of a middle-aged man with a protruding belly.
"I am Joo Dong-soo, CEO of Under the Sea Soft."
"What? Under the Sea?"
Taek-gyu roared furiously, "Get out!!!"
"W-wait a mont, Vice President!"
"Wait for what? Drag him out imdiately!"
Security staff dragged CEO Joo Dong-soo outside. This ti, no one intervened.
'What on earth is this situation?'
Confused, I nodded after hearing an explanation. "Ah, the legendary Sea Story."
The ti was 2004. During an era when the arcade ga industry struggled due to the rise of PC bangs (internet cafes), an arcade ga called Sea Story appeared like a cot. Though called an arcade ga, it was actually closer to Pachinko. Its addictive nature and gambling elents were so strong that the Sea Story craze swept the nation. Everyone rushed to install Sea Story machines, and similar copycat gas mushrood. This led to people losing fortunes and committing suicide, escalating into a social problem. Eventually, the CEO was arrested, all machines were confiscated and destroyed, and the ga company closed down. This incident severely damaged the public perception of gas and led to the creation of the Ga Rating and Administration Committee. The problem was that not only gambling gas but also regular gas beca targets of regulation. Under the Sea Soft was a company re-established by individuals previously involved in creating Sea Story. Considering the damage they inflicted on the ga industry, they had no grounds to complain about being kicked out.
Team Leader Jung Gi-hong bowed his head. "My apologies. I invited them without knowing what kind of company it was." It's understandable if you're not familiar with the ga industry.
After the self-introductions and seating arrangents were settled, the eting began in earnest.
The biggest concern currently facing the Korean ga industry was the 'Act on Prevention and Healing Support for Internet Ga Addiction' proposed in the National Assembly. If this bill passed, the ga industry would effectively fall under MOGEF's control. All ga companies were trembling in fear, busy formulating counterasures. In this situation, when contacted by OTK Company, they had rushed over imdiately.
CEO Kim Jin-taek of LC Soft was the first to voice his difficulties. "We hire people, earn foreign currency through exports, fill people's leisure ti. What exactly have we done wrong?"
"MOGEF regulates gas, while the governnt itself tells us to export more gas. How is this different from Korea phasing out nuclear power while encouraging nuclear power exports abroad?"
"I feel a sense of despair, wondering if we're doing sothing wrong, even if not illegal."
"Many developers are leaving the industry, tired of regulations and censorship."
"Sotis I even feel guilty, as if I'm creating harmful substances."
"I just want to create gas that everyone can enjoy. But these days, I'm ashad to tell my children I make gas."
"At school, one child bragged about his dad making condensing boilers, but my child couldn't say anything in front of him. Is making gas a cri?"
Money aside, professional pride is crucial. But when gaming is treated like an illicit industry, developers naturally lose motivation.
The discussion continued for several hours.
After everyone had aired their grievances, Taek-gyu spoke with a serious expression. "I have listened carefully to all your words. The situation is far more serious than I thought. I feel that the Korean ga industry could truly collapse at this rate. However..."
Taek-gyu looked around the conference room and continued. "You must also acknowledge that ga companies, obsessed with making money, have neglected their social responsibilities. If the industry had established asures to regulate gambling elents and addiction, the perception of gas wouldn't have beco this bad, and such strong regulatory bills wouldn't have erged. The major ga companies must first take responsibility for this issue and create reasonable, self-regulatory asures."
A few faces flushed, and so cleared their throats awkwardly, but no one could refute his point. As Taek-gyu said, the major ga companies bore significant fault for the situation reaching this point. Were there not gars so fed up with loot boxes and excessive monetization that they sided with MOGEF?
Taek-gyu pushed up his glasses and deliberately lowered his voice. "From now on, you must trust completely. Trusting ans not being afraid no matter what situation arises and expecting that we will achieve the best possible outco."
At those words, the ga company CEOs' faces brightened. "I-is that true?" This statent was tantamount to OTK Company taking the lead on the ga regulation issue. There was no need to explain OTK Company's influence in political and business circles.
CEO Kim Jin-taek of LC Soft shot up from his seat. "I will trust the Vice President completely."
Following his lead, other CEOs stood up one by one.
" too."
"I will not be afraid, no matter the situation."
"I will expect the best possible outco!"
"I believe!"
"I will trust and follow!"
"......"
This wasn't exactly a religious testimony session.
Taek-gyu nodded with satisfaction. "Good. Let reiterate, leave the ga regulation issue entirely to , and all of you just focus on making good gas."
[TL/n: I'm sure most you have already figured out which ga companies are these. And Letmarble is Netmarble]
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