The Game Rating and Administration Committee announced on the 13th that the game "Gwangju Running Man," which distorted and belittled the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, has been globally blocked on the PC game platform Steam. Following the domestic ban, access for overseas users has also been prevented, and efforts for the complete removal of the content are underway.
After prioritizing the blockage of domestic access in March, the Game Rating and Administration Committee collaborated with Valve Corporation, the operator of Steam, to make it inaccessible for overseas users as well. The process involved cooperation with the May 18 Memorial Foundation and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The problematic "Gwangju Running Man" is not an official game but a user-created mod of "Mount & Blade: Warband," released in 2008, which adds models of armored vehicles, buses, and soldiers to the original game. It has been confirmed that this mod was uploaded to Steam's "Creative Hub" by a user presumed to be Chinese in September of last year.
The Game Rating and Administration Committee explained the seriousness of historical distortion to Valve, which agreed and blocked the content globally. Valve has communicated its recognition of the May 18 Democratization Movement as an important historical event for the Korean people.
The Game Rating and Administration Committee stated, "We will continue to actively respond to instances of historical distortion in overseas games by cooperating with relevant institutions."