[NC] Government to Propose "AI Content Promotion Act" This Year... Increases Budget for Game Industry Support

Ministry of Culture: "Focus on Promotion,
Removing Barriers to AI Utilization"

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has shown its commitment to increase next year's budget in order to support the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the gaming industry. The ministry is also seeking to introduce legislation tentatively titled the “AI Content Promotion Act,” which will encompass the entire content industry, within the year.

Ko Youngjin, Director of the Cultural Artificial Intelligence Policy Division at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated during a game press policy seminar held at Cheongnyeon Foundation in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on July 14, that “the goal is to expand next year’s budget compared to this year.” Detailed projects will be disclosed after the government’s budget plan is finalized. Currently, the ministry is allocating 7.5 billion won for AI solution subscription fees for over 500 small and medium-sized game companies and startups, and about 3 billion won for supporting AI-powered game development projects.

The ministry is also speeding up efforts to propose the AI Content Promotion Act. Ko explained that the legislation is part of national policy tasks and that a draft has already been prepared. In addition, the ministry is reviewing how to ensure consistency with the current “Basic AI Act,” including discussions on how to apply transparency obligations to the content sector. Addressing concerns about the possibility of increased regulation, Ko emphasized, “The intention is to remove obstacles for the content industry in utilizing AI,” adding, “the government’s basic stance is to focus on promotion, not regulation.”

The ministry is also planning to announce a “Cultural AI Strategy” in the second half of this year. This strategy will likely include measures to support not only small and medium content companies, but also the development of leading enterprises, research and development (R&D), AI talent training, and youth employment across the industry as a whole.

Related to this, Na Kyubong, head of Barco Business Team for AI at NC, commented that domestic game companies are struggling to invest in AI transformation (AX) because they are focused on survival. Na noted, “There has been a significant decrease in the number of small game companies with fewer than 50 employees, and even mid-sized companies with 50 to 200 employees are grappling with the burden of maintaining payroll and rising advertising and marketing costs,” adding, “the struggle to survive has pushed technology to the background.”

He elaborated, “While some companies appear to be pursuing AX on the surface, in many cases, these are merely examples intended for press releases. From the perspective of those selling AI technologies, we intend to also focus on educational aspects and talent development.”

At the seminar, Na introduced practical examples of AI adoption. During the development of “Lineage M,” for instance, Barco 3D was utilized to enhance the quality of concept art, reducing the typical work period from two to three weeks down to about one week. Na also noted, “In competitions, we’re seeing cases where student creators use AI to develop new types of games. The proportion of AI applications in work processes is increasing. Rather than replacing creators, AI should be used to contribute to the creation of new content.”

Krafton presented a case study on “AI in Live Service” focusing on its application to PUBG: Battlegrounds. The company also demonstrated a beta test of its AI companion “Aellai,” which interacts with players via voice to support smooth gameplay. Seong Joonsik, Head of AI For Games R&D at Krafton, stated, “We are continuously experimenting with ways to turn AI into content,” adding, “Through Aellai, we wanted to see if cutting-edge AI technology can be implemented in live services. We aim to develop experience together with live service users.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.