Although, the Law Can Be Harsher Against Cheaters
In the year 2016, South Korea passed a law that made distributing cheats in video games illegal. Since the act was made enforceable under federal law, 13Â Overwatch hackers have been arrested. After a year-long investigation, two of the offenders have been sentenced.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police ended their investigation by giving one offender two years probation, the violation of which will lead to prison time. Offender number 2 has been fined with ₩10 million, or $9,300 USD. Under South Korean law, however, the penalty could have been far steeper. Cheating in video games can rake up fees of up to $43,000 or require 5 years of jail time. In a place like China, however, 15 individuals were fined $5.1 million USD for creating and distributing cheats for PUBG. In that particular case, the black hats were reprimanded for damages to PUBG Corp and negatively influencing the playerbase.
With only 2 of the 15 cheaters arrested, verdicts for the rest Overwatch hackers await. Perhaps one or more of the offenders shall collect South Korea’s steepest penalty. But only time will tell. Considering how video games/eSports fall under the country’s list of professions, it’s no surprise that cheat distributors suffer steep scrutiny under the law. Therefore, we can probably expect more such crackdowns in the future, following the conclusion of these proceedings. If it were Blizzard directly confronting these individuals, the legal repercussions may have been far greater than those under South Korean state law.
SOURCE: Evostrix