Korean e-Sports Association

Korea e-Sports Association
Formation 2000
Type NGO
Purpose Manage eSports in South Korea
Location
Region served
South Korea
Membership
11 member corporations
Official language
Korean, English
Chief Executive
 Jeon Byeong-heon
Main organ
 General Committee
Parent organization
 Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Affiliations Korean Olympic Committee
Website e-sports.or.kr

The Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) is a South Korean body established to manage e-sports in South Korea. As of June 2012, it was the managing body for 25 e-sports in the country, including Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void, League of Legends, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. KeSPA also hosts the KeSPA Cup, a yearly tournament event for some of their games.

History

KeSPA was founded in 2000 after the approval of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Its official goal is to make e-Sports an official sporting event, and to solidify the commercial position of e-Sports in all sectors. The organization manages the broadcasting of e-Sports, the formation of new events, and the conditions in which progamers work, as well as encourage the playing of video games by the general population. In 2008 SK Telecom was given the leading position on its board, effectively making Seo Jin-woo the organization's president. KeSPA regulates broadcasting by e-sports television channels such as Ongamenet, MBC Game, GOMtv, and Pandora TV, as well as 23 e-sports journalists and over twelve e-sports teams. Additionally, they have created a rankings system.[1][2]

On May 11, 2012 after a slew of announcements from KeSPA regarding the transition between StarCraft: Brood War and StarCraft II,[3] it was announced that they would be partnering with Major League Gaming, a US-based eSports organization to send KeSPA players to MLG events.[4]

On October 27, 2014 KeSPA, alongside Riot Games and Ongamenet, issued a press release stating new policies directed toward the welfare Korean professional eSports players. Some of the major changes include a minimum salary for professional eSports players that is competitive with popular traditional sports, and setting a 1-year minimum for contracts between players and teams starting in the 2016 season. There were also many League of Legends specific changes that include limiting companies to have a minimum of one team with 10 players per team, and beginning a shift from tournament to league format for Korean Worlds qualifiers.

Match Fixing Controversy

In April 2010, eleven Starcraft players were implicated for match fixing during the 2009 e-Sports season. The Sanction Subcommittee of KeSPA banned them from playing e-Sports in the future,[5] and those implicated are due to be charged in criminal courts by KeSPA, as well as professional gaming teams. Along with progamers, the owners of over twelve illegal gambling websites, and former players and staff members will be charged. It is alleged that players were bribed to leak information, or lose games, allowing owners of the illegal gambling site to obtain huge profits. There was an outcry in Korea following these developments.[6]

Intellectual Property Dispute with Blizzard

In 2008, a slump in the distribution of e-Sports media was caused in part by the fear that video game developer Blizzard Entertainment would demand royalties from KeSPA, because of their intellectual property rights.[7] In 2010, Blizzard Entertainment announced that negotiations were going poorly, and that they would only allow GomTV to broadcast Blizzard games.[8] KeSPA responded saying that they will challenge Blizzard's intellectual property rights. However, soon after, MBC Game, a gaming television station, announced that they will negotiate with GOMtv, which Newhua news speculated would lessen KeSPA's power.[9]

In May 2011, the dispute was finally settled, allowing Ongamenet (OGN) and Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) to officially broadcast Brood War games.[10]

Notable teams

See also

References

  1. ↑ Tsang, Simon (4 June 2007). "In a Blizzard of Warfare". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  2. ↑ "KeSPA Rankings". KeSPA. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  3. ↑ "Media Day: SK Planet Proleague Season 2". Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "MLG and KeSPA Announce Multi-Year Partnership". Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  5. ↑ Kim, Hyuk (7 April 2010). "KeSPA, 프로게이머 승부조작 연류 11명 자격 박탈 등 중징계". Today Korea. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  6. ↑ Kim, Hyun-cheol (15 April 2010). "StarCraft Rigging Scandal Hits e-Sports Industry". Korea Times. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  7. ↑ Cho, Jin-seo (19 May 2008). "'StarCraft' Losing in Gaming League". Korea Times. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  8. ↑ "暴雪CEO声明与GomTV合作缘由 KeSPA未表态". Yesky Gaming. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  9. ↑ "MBC Television first to change sides and play with Blizzard". Newhua. 4 June 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  10. ↑ "Blizzard - KeSPA license official". Retrieved 2 September 2015.
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