Game firms disappointed with Moon-Xi summit
By Jun Ji-hye
Game companies here are expressing disappointment at President Moon Jae-in's latest summit with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, as the summit failed to address their concerns over China's suspension of issuing service permits for Korean games, company officials said Wednesday.
Officials said they hoped President Moon would bring up the issue, which has remained unresolved for more than two years, at Monday's summit with the Chinese president in Beijing, but it turned out the matter was even not mentioned.
According to Cheong Wa Dae, Moon and Xi talked about the need to enhance bilateral cooperation in various areas including culture, sports and education, but did not directly mention China's refusal to permit Korean game companies to sell their products in the Chinese game market.
China, the world's largest game market, suspended issuing service permits for Korean games in March 2017 as part of the country's protest of Korea's deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.
“China's export barriers should be resolved at the government level as it is no longer an issue for private companies,” an official from a Seongnam-based game company said. “Game companies' hardships are deepening with the government's indifference, but the issue was ignored again in the latest Korea-China summit.”
President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of their Beijing summit, Monday. / Yonhap
The Chinese government has reopened its gaming market earlier this year to foreign games including those made by the U.S. and Japanese firms, but kept the doors closed to Korean companies.
Game companies are disappointed especially because President Moon has shown a friendly attitude toward the game industry.
When he was a presidential candidate, Moon said negative perceptions toward games should be improved, noting that the game industry will become one of the country's growth engines.
Moon also invited heads of game companies including NCSOFT CEO Kim Taek-jin and Netmarble Chairman Bang Joon-hyuk to his meeting with business leaders at Cheong Wa Dae at the beginning of the year.
But the government has taken no notable measures in coping with China's export barriers.
“Game companies have suffered falling operating profits amid government indifference,” another game company official said.
Korea Game Society issued a statement, Dec. 11, saying, “We supported Moon during the presidential election as he was believed to be the optimal figure to promote the game industry, but the foreign ministry has never come up with proper measures to resolve China's suspension of issuing service permits for Korean games.”
Rep. Cho Kyoung-tae of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party urged the government in October to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over China's discrimination against Korean games.