By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter

A system encouraging online gamers to moderate their playing time has been proposed in order to fight game addiction.

For instance, in role-playing games, a popular genre, heavy users would see their characters penalized after a time limit has passed.

This and other measures are part of a package introduced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Monday, together with some leading domestic online game makers. The announcement comes on the heels of incidents involving online gaming addicts. In a recent case, a couple neglected their infant child, who starved to death, due to their addiction.

In another case, a 22-year-old man was arrested for killing his mother for telling him not to play games. And a 32-year-old man died of multiple organ failure after having collapsed at an arcade.

Experts say game addicts show similar symptoms to those addicted to drugs or alcohol, indicating game-addicted people should be subject to intensive rehabilitation.

The government will allocate more than 5 billion won to preventing addiction, some 10 times the current budget. More support will be given to those undergoing rehabilitation programs, and campaigns to encourage moderate use of games will be launched.

However, prospects are not rosy as the legalization of the compulsory "log out" system will be difficult to push through the National Assembly. Lawyers said the rule may violate the basic right to seek happiness.

Kim Ki-young, head of the Korea Association of Game Industry, said, "There have been some unfortunate incidents involving online games. There are also other social issues driving them to become addicted to these games. We should all try to look at addiction as a social problem."

bjs@koreatimes.co.kr