South Korea’s ruling party leader calls for stronger esports policy

Jung Chung-rae, Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Leader, used his visit to G-STAR 2025 in Busan on November 14th to reaffirm the party’s commitment to Korea’s rapidly expanding games and esports ecosystem.

Jung toured the show floor at BEXCO before taking part in the On-site Roundtable on K-GAME Future Strategies, where he told industry stakeholders that the game sector remains ‘one of [Korea’s] key future growth engines.‘

During the roundtable, Jung highlighted his role in sponsoring Korea’s first Game Industry Promotion Act two decades ago. He noted that the landscape has changed dramatically since the mid-2000s, when the idea of codifying ‘esports’ in law faced significant public pushback.

“Back then, people insisted games were just ‘addiction,’” Jung said. “But I kept arguing this was Korea’s future cash-cow industry — and we ultimately succeeded in passing the law.”

Jung used the session to outline a long-running track record of esports advocacy. This included forming a National Assembly esports caucus, hosting a StarCraft tournament inside the National Assembly Library, and helping launch the former professional team MBCGame HERO.

He said he once proposed integrating an esports programme into the Defence Ministry’s Armed Forces Athletic Corps (Sangmu) and encouraging the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee to adopt esports as an official discipline — initiatives he described as having “stagnated for twenty years.”

Jung also expressed disappointment that the Presidential Award for esports is still rarely attended by the president themselves.

“I promised that, if I get the chance to meet the president, I will formally convey that request,” he said.

Jung emphasised that the upcoming comprehensive revision bill for the Game Industry Promotion Act — led by Cho Seung-rae, a DPK representative — is expected to clear the National Assembly soon. According to Cho, however, ministries such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance “are not particularly positive” about tax incentive measures, though he said he plans to keep negotiating.

The DPK leader reiterated that esports has been central to Korea’s soft power abroad, pointing to past milestones such as special military service exemptions granted to elite competitors and early Korea–China esports exchanges.

Despite lingering public scepticism of gaming, Jung said the National Assembly must ensure that those working in game development and esports ‘can carry on their businesses with greater confidence.’ He added that the Lee Jae-myung administration ‘is also very interested in esports,’ pledging continued engagement with the industry.

G-STAR 2025, Korea’s largest games trade show, runs through November 17th and features a slate of publishers, esports showcases and business conferences.