Anime game fans cause government agency to resign
The South Korean Game Rating and Administration Committee (GRAC) is facing a corruption scandal after angering Anime game fans who believe the rating agency leaked information about upcoming game releases. The issue has escalated to the degree that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to overhaul the agency and file criminal charges.
This all started when the mobile anime RPG Blue Archive had its age rating increased from 15 to 18 by the GRAC. The change was reportedly due to suggestive scenes within the game. Nexon, the game’s developer, raised the age rating to 18 and announced a future release of a more modest version.
However, 5,489 fans signed a petition calling for a public audit of the GRAC’s work and use of resources. An audit was conducted, revealing that the GRAC had mislaid around 700 million Korean won (approximately half a million dollars) of taxpayers’ money.
Korean media reports indicate that the GRAC committed structural misconduct, including making payments before completing tasks and creating false data. Allegations suggest that some of the money was diverted to Bitcoin mining, although this may be a misunderstanding.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to overhaul the agency, replace department heads, and file criminal charges. The Ministry aims to recover the missing funds as damages and several departmental heads have already resigned.
The lawmaker who spearheaded the petition, Lee Sang-heon, sees this as a victory and claims the GRAC was “festering and rotting” on the inside. The lawmaker believes that if it weren’t for the support of the fans, the corruption would have remained hidden.
“The rating process for games is already under scrutiny, and this scandal only adds to the agency’s already questionable reputation,” Alistair Tait, founder of Anime Games World, tells Hard Fork. “The fact that it was fans that uncovered the corruption is somewhat ironic, as it shows the power and influence that anime game fans have in South Korea.”
This isn’t the first time the GRAC’s rating process has come under fire. Just recently, the agency inadvertently leaked information about upcoming game releases, including the popular PC game, Yatagarasu Attack on Cataclysm.
