Ministries at odds over WHO decision on game addiction

By Jun Ji-hye

The culture and health ministries have come into conflict over the World Health Organization's (WHO) decision to designate video game addiction as a mental disorder. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism rejects the WHO conclusion, whereas the Ministry of Health and Welfare accepts it.

On May 25, the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the WHO, unanimously approved the revised 11th International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), which classifies game addiction as a disease in the same category as substance abuse and gambling.

The ICD-11 will come into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, and be used by countries as a reference for policy making.

Following the decision, the health ministry said it would form a consultative body by June, participated in by other relevant ministries, game firms, civic groups and experts, to discuss how to deal with the issue. The move was construed as the ministry beginning the domestic process to adopt the WHO decision.

The culture ministry, which is in charge of the game industry, said it would not participate in the consultative body, claiming discussions would include a major premise that the government was accepting the WHO position and would reflect it in policy making.

“We will file an additional objection with the WHO as the decision was made without acceptable scientific evidence,” a culture ministry official said.

The ministry has already delivered its opposition to the revision in a letter sent to the WHO in late April.

Along with game firms here, it claims if video game addiction is considered a mental disorder, it will lead to stringent regulations and kill the industry, thus adversely affecting the economy.

According to Seoul National University, the Korean game industry will likely suffer a loss of 11 trillion won ($9.3 billion) over three years from 2023.

The culture ministry's objection is creating a stir in the government as the health ministry has vowed to accept the WHO ruling and reflect it in policy making.

However, the former said it was willing to participate in a consultative body led by the Office for Government Policy Coordination under the Prime Minister's Office, apparently aiming to persuade other ministries to reject the WHO decision.

“We will coordinate with other ministries,” the culture ministry official said. “If necessary, we will also carry out joint research for scientific verification.”

Regarding the issue, the health ministry stressed it was not moving to accept the WHO ruling immediately, noting that what was needed was a full debate on the issue.