Korean Law Proposed To Punish Sexual Harassment In Online Games

National Assembly member Kim Soo Min has proposed a law to punish sexual harassment from voice chatting on online games.

Assemblywoman Kim Soo Min explained that sexual harassment of women has become prevalent in multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) type games, especially Overwatch, which utilize voice chat in place of chatting.

“The popular online game, Overwatch, is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game that involves cooperation between the participants, who usually speak thorugh voice chat rather than text. Sexual harassment of female participants through voice chat are becoming prevalent in these types of games.”

— Kim Soo Min

Because there are no regulations and punishment for sexual harassment outside of the workplace such as online, these cases are often charged as defamation of character or online defamation. As a result, she has pointed out the necessity to enforce laws that punish those who sexually harass others in areas outside of the workplace.

“Sexual harassment has been becoming more and more prevalent offline and online, and the form of harassment has also been becoming more diversified with a consistent rise in the number of victims. People often cursed by typing on their keyboards in the past. We must make clear that online sexual harassment that occur through voice chats are also clear acts of sexual harassment and regulations must be enforced.”

— Kim Soo Min