Game Rating and Administration Committee

{{short description|South Korean video game content rating board}}

{{Infobox government agency

| name = Game Rating and Administration Committee

| native_name =

| native_name_a = {{lang|ko|게임물관리위원회}}
게임物管理委員會

| native_name_r = Geimmul Gwalli Wiwonhoe

| type = Video game content rating body

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| logo = Game Rating and Administration Committee logo.svg

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| formed = 2006 (as Game Rating Board)

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| jurisdiction = South Korea

| headquarters = Busan, South Korea

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| website = {{URL|http://www.grac.or.kr/}}

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| logo_alt = Game Rating and Administration Committee logo hangug-eo.svg

}}

{{Infobox Korean name

|hangul = 게임물관리위원회

|hanja = 게임物管理委員會

|rr = Geimmul Gwalli Wiwonhoe

|mr = Keimmul Kwalli Wiwŏnhoe

}}

The Game Rating and Administration Committee{{efn|{{korean|hangul=게임물관리위원회|rr=Geimmul Gwalli Wiwonhoe}}}} (GRAC), formerly the Game Rating Board{{efn|{{korean|hangul=게임물등급위원회|rr=Geimmul Deung-Geub-Wiwonhoe}}}} (GRB) until December 23, 2013, is a South Korean video game content rating board. A governmental organization, the GRAC rates video games to inform customers of the nature of game contents.

Prior to the foundation of GRB, the Korea Media Rating Board rated video games like most other entertainment media. In 2006, the controversies surrounding the arcade gambling game Sea Story, which the Korea Media Rating Board found suitable for all-age, lead to allegations of misconduct. The Korean government responded by creating the GRB in 2006 and making it the only rating organization for rating video games in South Korea.{{cite book|author1=Myung Oh|author2=James Larson|title=Digital Development in Korea: Building an Information Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OZpdqhsPHnQC&pg=PA147|date=14 March 2011|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-136-81313-9|pages=147–148}}{{cite web|url=http://www.rjkoehler.com/2006/08/22/sea-story-scandal-simmers/ |title=Sea Story scandal simmers |publisher=The Marmot's Hole |date=2006-08-22 |access-date=2014-08-26 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120110/http://www.rjkoehler.com/2006/08/22/sea-story-scandal-simmers/ |archive-date=2014-08-26 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/08/30/2003325478 |title=South Korean PM apologizes for video game controversy |publisher=Taipei Times |date=2014-08-19 |access-date=2014-08-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826113708/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/08/30/2003325478 |archive-date=2014-08-26 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2011/09/123_95415.html |title=Blizzard's rush for cash? |publisher=The Korea Times |date=2011-09-25 |access-date=2014-08-26 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826161522/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2011/09/123_95415.html |archive-date=2014-08-26 }}

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.economist.com/node/18561127 |title=Censorship in South Korea: Game over |publisher=The Economist |date=2011-04-14 |access-date=2014-08-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820141333/http://www.economist.com/node/18561127 |archive-date=2014-08-20 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=http://www.rjkoehler.com/2010/09/07/south-koreas-game-rating-board-and-the-war-on-online-content/ |title=South Korea's Game Rating Board and The War on Online Content |publisher=The Marmot's Hole |date=2010-09-07 |access-date=2014-08-26 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120155/http://www.rjkoehler.com/2010/09/07/south-koreas-game-rating-board-and-the-war-on-online-content/ |archive-date=2014-08-26 }}{{cite web |url=http://koreanoodles.com/korea-blocks-facebook-game-apps |title=Korea Blocks Facebook Game Apps |publisher=Koreanoodles |date=2014-09-02 |access-date=2014-09-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905171717/http://koreanoodles.com/korea-blocks-facebook-game-apps/ |archive-date=2014-09-05 |url-status=usurped }} 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.{{cite web |last1=jaripekka |title=South-Korea / How To Enable Digital Growth In Europe? |date=25 January 2020 |url=http://www.egdf.eu/documentation/5-fair-digital-markets/9-trade-policy/south-korea/ |publisher=European Games Developer Federation}}

In October 2022, the GRAC's sudden decision to raise the age rating of video games was accused of being an illegitimate policy, leading to an audit of the board suggested by Democratic Party politician {{Ill|Lee Sang-heon (politician)|lt=Lee Sang-heon|ko|이상헌 (1954년)}}.{{Cite web |last=김 |first=주환 |title=민주 이상헌, '게임물관리위 전산망 비리의혹' 국민감사 청구 |url=https://n.news.naver.com/article/001/0013543652 |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=Naver News |language=ko}}