Game Rating and Administration Committee

The Game Rating and Administration Committee (GRAC; Korean: 게임물관리위원회; RR: Geimmul Gwalli-Wiwonhoe), formerly the Game Rating Board (GRB, Korean: 게임물등급위원회; RR: Geimmul Deung-Geub-Wiwonhoe) until December 23, 2013, is the South Korean video game content rating board. A governmental organization, the GRAC rates video games to inform customers of the nature of game contents.

Game Rating and Administration Committee
게임물관리위원회
게임物管理委員會
Geimmul Gwalli Wiwonhoe
Video game content rating body overview
Formed2006 (as Game Rating Board)
JurisdictionSouth Korea
HeadquartersBusan, South Korea
Websitewww.grac.or.kr
Game Rating and Administration Committee
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationGeimmul Gwalli Wiwonhoe
McCune–ReischauerKeimmul kwalli wiwŏnhoe

Initially, the Korea Media Rating Board, a governmental organization, rated video games just like other entertainment media. However, a controversy occurred because the Korea Media Rating Board rated an arcade gambling game Sea Story as if it were suitable for everyone, with allegations of misconduct. The Korean government responded to the controversy by creating the GRB in 2006 and making it the only rating organization for rating video games in South Korea.

The GRAC has been criticized as one of the elements of the Internet censorship in South Korea, and has been criticized for being the same as censorship of China. By law, games sold in the country must be rated by GRAC prior to sale; additional regulations stipulate age and real name verification for certain mature-audience titles, as well as regulations on location-based games.

In October 2022, the GRAC's decision to raise the age rating for the game Blue Archive from 15+ to 18+ drew criticism from fans. The move prompted a petition calling for a public audit of the GRAC led by Democratic Party politician Lee Sang-heon, which received 5,489 in-person signatures in front of the National Assembly building. The audit's findings were published in June 2023 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), which found that the GRAC had mishandled around 700 million won ($600,000) in taxpayer money. In light of the findings, the MCST announced it would overhaul the committee, replacing department heads and filing criminal charges against those involved.

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