S KOREA HAS REGULATED ONLINE COMPUTER GAME PLAY FOR ITS CHILDREN–CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 15 IS NOT ALLOWED TO PLAY AFTER MIDNIGHT TO PREVENT ONLINE GAMING ADDICTION–THE REGULATION HAS BEEN SCALED BACK RECENTLY THAT ANY 15 AND UNDER CAN PLAY AFTER MIDNIGHT ONLY WITH PARENTAL APPROVAL–BUT SINCE THE YOUTH PROTECTION LAW INCEPTION, IT MAY TAKE TIL NEXT YEAR FOR THE DEREGULATION TO TAKE EFFECT

The government announced this week that children aged 15 or under will be allowed to play online games after midnight, if they have their parents’ approval. This will only expose our children to greater risk of computer game addiction.

Currently, online game operators are banned from providing services to those aged 15 or under from midnight to 6 a.m. The curfew, called “nighttime shutdown,” has been in force since 2011 and has proven effective in curbing youth game addiction.
The announcement was made jointly by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which deals with youth policy, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which regulates the gaming industry.

Officials said they made the decision because “some” parents and the gaming industry kept requesting that the government ease the rule. In other words, they were changing the rule as part of the government’s deregulation drive.

They insisted that it would be proper to have the industry and parents control children’s gaming hours to ensure healthy use of computer games. They added that a survey last year found that about 30 percent of youths in the age group were already playing games after midnight using their parents’ IDs.

What they did not say is how many of the parents knew that their children were using their IDs to violate the law and keep playing computer games when they should be in bed.

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140905000472