Government legislation ministry says unregistered video producers must seek ratings

The government legislation ministry said June 23 that individuals producing or distributing videos without formal business registration must still obtain age ratings before supplying the content.

Under the Act on the Promotion of Movies and Videos, anyone producing or distributing video content is required to receive a rating from the Korea Media Rating Board prior to supply. A petitioner had asked whether this mandate was limited only to those who had officially registered their enterprises with local municipal authorities, as the law provides exemptions from such registration for certain cases, including content distributed solely via information and communication networks.

The ministry concluded that the scope of entities required to secure ratings includes those who have not completed business registration filings. While the statute exempts specific operators from reporting their business activities to mayors or district heads, it does not list these same groups as exempt from the classification requirement.

The ministry noted that limiting the classification obligation solely to registered businesses would allow unreported producers to bypass safety checks entirely. The agency stated that the purpose of the rating system is to preemptively block the distribution of harmful content, a goal that would be undermined if applied only to registered operators.

The ministry also rejected arguments that lower-level enforcement rules allowing publishers to apply for ratings on behalf of registered operators implied a narrower scope, stating that subordinate regulations cannot restrict the definition of obligated parties set by the primary law.