Gaming disorder's potential medical classification in Korea rouses heated debate

Physicians and academics debated the necessity and potential consequences of introducing the World Health Organization's (WHO) classification of video gaming disorder as a medical condition to Korea at a panel discussion.

Rep. Kang Yu-jung, fifth from right, and other members of the Democratic Party (DP) and academics pose for a photo ahead of the panel discussion on introducing the World Health Organization’s gaming disorder classification to Korea on Sept. 12. [YONHAP]

Physicians and academics debated the necessity and potential consequences of introducing the World Health Organization's (WHO) classification of video gaming disorder as a medical condition to Korea at a panel discussion hosted by members of the liberal Democratic Party (DP) on Sept. 12.

Rep. Kang Yu-jung — who says she personally objects its implementation and is a member of the opposing Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee — said the DP arranged the debate in the hope to “approach the topic from a balanced perspective to find an optimal solution” for the disease classification.

Korea is currently deliberating between potentially harming its 19.7 trillion won ($14.8 billion) gaming industry and addressing growing concerns over problematic game use. The problem is exacerbated, given that Korea is a hyper-connected country where 62.9 percent of its population regularly plays games, according to the Korea Creative Content Agency, and is also a place where seeking help for addiction is difficult due to the heavy stigma surrounding mental illness.

The WHO voted to recognize gaming disorder as a behavioral addiction in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD) in May 2019. Estimated by the health organization to affect less than 3 percent of gamers, it is defined as a pattern of gaming behavior characterized by an impaired control over gaming to the extent that it interferes with daily activities and relationships and continues despite negative consequences.

The disease is thought to be more prevalent in Asian countries than in North America and Europe, according to the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

“Gamers and the gaming industry object to its implementation while psychiatrists approve. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism object and the Ministry of Health and Welfare approves,” Rep. Kang said in her opening remarks at the discussion. Other hosting party members were Lim Kwang-hyun and Health and Welfare Committee members Seo Young-seok and Jeon Jin-sook.

Lee Young-min, head of the Culture Ministry’s game content industry division, pointed to a “lack of scientific evidence backing gaming disorder” in her objection, while expressing concerns that it would have a “significant ripple effect on the economy” and the gaming industry.

Academics and psychiatrists discuss the pros and cons of introducing WHO’s classification of gaming disorder as a condition to Korea at the FKI Tower in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Sept. 12. [YONHAP]

Psychiatrists at the event refuted Lee’s remarks while referencing global studies and their patients, saying there were sufficient case studies that showed a significant number of affected people and how they necessitated gaming disorder’s classification. They pointed out the disorder prevalently co-existing in patients with other mental illnesses, such as attention deficiency disorder or hyperactivity disorder.

The experts also referenced the WHO’s reasoning for the disorder's inclusion in the ICD: to bring attention to the risks of the development of the disorder and allowing for preventive and treatment measures.

“It is not that games itself are a problem,” Hallym University psychiatry professor Lee Sang-kyu said. “Allowing people to get the appropriate treatment they need with a safeguard will help foster a safe gaming culture.”

"Games are not an ordinary good. Like many other addictive substances, they provide pleasure, and addiction to them can be established depending on the user, substance and environment," Lee Hae-kook, a professor at the Catholic University of Korea's Department of Psychiatry, said. "The classification is needed as a definitive and diagnostic guideline so that medical centers can treat patients."

On the opposing side, academics questioned the definition and diagnosis criteria for a gaming disorder, citing the APA's identification of the condition as an area for further study — which doesn't classify it as an "official" disorder in the fifth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and Mental Disorders.

Hansung University social sciences professor Cho Mun-seok questioned the effectiveness of government measures, saying they could be a "policy failure repeat" of the Shutdown Law, a measure that denied people under the age of 16 access to games after midnight. The law was abolished in 2021.

"There were costs attached to that policy," he said.

"There are concerns that it could be abused either socially or medically if it is classified as a disease," Korea University neurology professor Park Kun-woo added.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]