韩国议员质疑KOCCA游戏资助不足，游戏占内容出口60.4%而预算仅6.9%

Do Korean games get enough government funding? Rep. Kim Seung-soo of the People Power Party certainly doesn’t think so. He used the Oct. 12 parliamentary audit of the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) to argue that games get far less government money than their export numbers justify.

It’s easy to see his argument: games brought in 60.4 percent of Korea's content exports in 2024 but a meagre 6.9 percent of the 2026 content budget is gaming-related. This means the gaming industry, when valued in terms of exports, is worth more than the Korean film industry and K-pop. Kim is demanding the KOCCA makes sure next year's budget includes enough support for the industry. A level playing field doesn’t seem like too much to ask for.

The exchange took place in the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, with KOCCA President Kim Yoon-ji fielding questions. Rep. Kim told her, "The government treats gaming like an 'abandoned child.'" It’s a poet and maybe a tad dramatic way to put it, but perhaps he has a point. Let’s take a closer look at the numbers.

The numbers behind the argument

Kim's export figures come from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's 2025 Content Industry Survey, which covers 2024 data. His budget figures were compiled by his own office.

Kim also noted that this year's supplementary budget had no line for gaming industry support. On next year's budget, he said: "The budget for talent cultivation projects was also completely cut."

South Korea has produced a slew of elite games over the years. It gave the world the Project Moon series, while Stellar Blade was a big sci-fi hit. Lies of P, meanwhile, ranks as one of the best soulslike games in recent years, with these titles and others justifying Kim’s frustrations.

Games on the sidelines of policy talks

Watch the trailer for Lies of P, a challenging soulslike game based on Pinocchio

Kim's second point was about who gets a seat in the room. His office counted 23 sub-committee meetings of the presidential Popular Culture Exchange Committee over one year (but just two were gaming-related.

He also said the figures changed during the audit. The music sub-committee met eight times and the materials first submitted showed zero gaming meetings. After he pointed it out, the number was revised to two. As a further frustration, he added that in the Cultural Arts Policy Advisory Committee, formed in November last year, the gaming sub-committee hasn't held a single meeting.

The two-out-of-23 split is the easiest number here for a gamer to grasp. It shows how little policy attention goes to the sector that produces most of South Korea's content exports.

Wemade and the Mir IP

The sale of Wemade's founder stake didn’t escape Kim’s scrutiny. On June 30, Wemade disclosed that Chairman Park Kwan-ho had signed an agreement to sell his 39.33 percent holding to NeoPulse for 920 billion won. NeoPulse is wholly owned by Hong Kong-based asset manager Shengsong Investment, and it bought a 0.92 percent stake in Wemade last year.

Once the deal closes on Oct. 30, NeoPulse will be Wemade's largest shareholder with 40.25 percent. What’s making Kim anxious is that the flagship Mir IP is effectively moving to Chinese capital. His office's data says Mir licensing earns Wemade around 100 billion won a year, and Boston Consulting Group once estimated the IP's market size at about 6.7 trillion won. Kim said, "While market valuation ranges from 6 trillion to 9 trillion won, it was sold at a bargain price of 920 billion won."

He tied this to Kim Yoon-ji's Sept. 17 press conference marking 100 days in office. There, she called securing strong content IP and expanding its value the key to K-content's success. Kim demanded to know what plans exist to restore Korea's standing as a gaming powerhouse and how Wemade employees' jobs will be protected.

KOCCA's response

Kim Yoon-ji's reply was brief. She said, "We are continuously paying close attention." She added that KOCCA will keep working on IP discovery and on expanding new businesses in the gaming industry.

Her answer included no budget figures or commitments.

The Wemade transaction is scheduled to close on Oct. 30. The next marker for Kim's funding request is the budget allocation for next year, which he asked KOCCA to push for.