About seven out of 10 South Koreans think that Internet games are as addictive as gambling, alcohol and drugs, a survey showed on Tuesday.

A poll by research firm Real Meter found that 72.1 percent of people answered yes to the question, “Are Internet games as addictive as gambling, alcohol and drugs?” The survey was conducted on 1,000 men and women last Wednesday and Thursday, and it has a margin of error of 3.81 percentage points.

Some 20.9 percent answered yes to the question, “Have you or someone around you suffered because of Internet games, gambling, alcohol and drugs?”

When asked about the recently proposed bill to categorize “Internet games and other digital media content” as one of four major sources of addiction along with alcohol, drugs and gambling, 47.8 percent agreed, while 31.0 percent opposed the bill.

Rep. Shin Yee-jin of the ruling Saenuri party proposed the controversial bill in April, touching off a dispute on whether Internet games are a direct cause of addiction and should be subject to tougher government control.

Proponents of the bill pointed out the social problems caused by game addiction, while its opponents said the addictive nature of Internet games has not been clinically proven.

The bill, if approved by legislators, will allow the state to supervise the production, distribution and sales of Internet games, and can restrict their advertisement.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism last week voiced its opposition against the bill, saying that there is no proof that links games directly to addiction.



By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)