Gaming Association President Arrested

The special investigation team (directed by Jeong Yun-gi, head of the drug and organized crime division) of the Seoul District Prosecutors` Office has arrested Kim Min-seok (41), president of the Korea Computer Game Industrial Association (KCGIA), on August 30 on the suspicion of lobbying in the course of deliberation over a game machine for adults and is carrying out investigations on him.

The suspicion on Kim is that he accepted money and other articles worth tens of millions of won from the manufacturer of an adult game named "Hwang Geum Seong," with the appeal to let the machine pass the deliberation of the Korea Media Rating Board (KMRB).

The prosecution held an intensive questioning session with Kim on the conviction that part of the money and articles he accepted from the manufacturer were transferred to the deliberation committee of the KMRB through Kim. Hwang Geum Seong was graded "Above 18" in March of last year, and 15,000 machines of this game have been circulated in the market since. It was also revealed that the prosecution is planning to summon A, a member of the deliberation committee of the KMRB and a close acquaintance of Kim, and investigate him soon.

Kim is also under suspicion of running an adult amusement hall under the name of another person in Daegu where 150 machines of Hwang Geum Seong game are installed.

The prosecution is considering to request an arrest warrant for the crime of accepting a bribe for a favor after confirming the suspicions on him on August 31. Meanwhile, it is known that the prosecution has prohibited the departure of Kim Mun-hei (55), who was the prime researcher of the Culture and Tourism Committee of the National Assembly (an assistant minister rank) between August 2004 and July 2006 based on the secret information that Kim was involved in the procedures of designating the issuer of premium gift certificates.

A prosecution official said, "It was confirmed that the issuer with which former Representative Kim was associated was not designated in the end, but we nevertheless have to investigate the procedures of the designation." Regarding this, former Representative Kim, during a telephone interview with this newspaper, said, "It is absolutely false."