South Korea's Game Rating and Administration Committee (GRAC) Faces Corruption Scandal
The South Korean Game Rating and Administration Committee (GRAC) is currently in the midst of a corruption scandal. The Ministry is investigating the agency for alleged mismanagement of taxpayers' money and the integrity of its game rating process. This controversy has arisen after the agency angered anime game fans with its recent actions.
One of the main issues that has sparked anger among anime game fans is the rating agency's decision to raise the age rating of the popular mobile anime RPG Blue Archive. The game, developed by Nexon, saw its age rating increased from 15 to 18 due to the inclusion of undressed characters. This decision came as a surprise to the game's developers, who had already submitted a rating request before adding the characters at the request of the anime's creators.
Nexon, in response to the raised age rating, announced the release of a more modest version of Blue Archive targeting a younger audience. However, this move did not appease the fans, who launched a petition calling for a public audit of the GRAC's work and use of resources. As a result, the agency itself became the subject of an audit.
The audit, conducted by South Korean news agency Yonhap, revealed significant irregularities within the GRAC. It was discovered that the agency had mislaid approximately 700 million Korean won (equivalent to around half a million dollars) of taxpayers' money. Furthermore, the agency was found to have engaged in structural misconduct, such as making payments before completing tasks and creating false data.
While there were allegations that some of the diverted money was used for Bitcoin mining, there is no clear evidence to confirm this, according to an unnamed source quoted by Yonhap. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to address these issues by overhauling the entire agency, which includes replacing department heads and potentially filing criminal charges. The Ministry also aims to recover the missing funds as damages.
In the wake of the scandal, several departmental heads have already resigned in disgrace. However, the head of the ratings division reportedly plans to fight the allegations. Korean Democratic party lawmaker Lee Sang-heon, who spearheaded the Blue Archive fans' petition and celebrated its success, views this scandal as a victory against the GRAC's conservative game censorship and regulation.
“If there were no supporters who were willing to take action, this damage caused by the GRAC's actions would have remained hidden,” Lee writes on his blog. “If the GRAC's rating system remains like this, the damage will spread to more games.”
For more information about the scandal and updates on the situation, check out the latest news on Red Dead Redemption 2.
