Korean e-Sports Players Association
Encyclopedia
The Korean e-Sports Association or KeSPA is a South Korea
n body established to manage e-sports in South Korea. it was the managing body for 25 e-sports, including Starcraft: Brood War
and Counter Strike.
was given the leading position on its board, effectively making Seo Jin-woo the organization's president. KeSPA regulates broadcasting by e-sports 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.
rights. In 2010, Blizzard Entertainment
announced that negotiations were going poorly, and that they would only allow GomTV to broadcast Blizzard games. 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.
In May 2011, the dispute was finally settled, allowing OGN
and MBC
to officially broadcast Brood War games.
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n body established to manage e-sports in South Korea. it was the managing body for 25 e-sports, including Starcraft: Brood War
StarCraft: Brood War
StarCraft: Brood War is the expansion pack for the award winning military science fiction, real-time strategy video game StarCraft. Released in 1998 for Windows and Mac OS, it was co-developed by Saffire and Blizzard Entertainment. The expansion pack introduced new campaigns, map tilesets, music,...
and Counter Strike.
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 TelecomSK Telecom
SK Telecom Co., Ltd. or Sunkyoung Telecom is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator, controlled by the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebol. As a part of SK Group, SK stands for Sun Kyung.SK Telecom is a provider of mobile service in Korea, with 50.5% of the market share as...
was given the leading position on its board, effectively making Seo Jin-woo the organization's president. KeSPA regulates broadcasting by e-sports channels such as Ongamenet
Ongamenet
Ongamenet is one of two South Korean cable television companies , that specializes in broadcasting video game-related information and matches, which include StarCraft, Warcraft III and others. It is a subsidiary of On-Media, an owner of several cable channels....
, MBC Game, GOMtv, and Pandora TV
Pandora TV
Pandora TV is a video sharing website that hosts user-generated content. Founded in October 2004, Pandora TV is the first video sharing website in the world to attach advertisement to user-submitted video clips and to provide unlimited storage space for users to upload...
, as well as 23 e-sports journalists and over twelve e-sports teams. Additionally, they have created a rankings system.
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, 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.Intellectual property dispute
In 2008, a slump in the distribution of e-Sports media was caused in part by the fear that Blizzard would demand royalties from KeSPA, because of their intellectual propertyIntellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
rights. In 2010, Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher founded on February 8, 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse by three graduates of UCLA, Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce and currently owned by French company Activision Blizzard...
announced that negotiations were going poorly, and that they would only allow GomTV to broadcast Blizzard games. 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.
In May 2011, the dispute was finally settled, allowing OGN
Ongamenet
Ongamenet is one of two South Korean cable television companies , that specializes in broadcasting video game-related information and matches, which include StarCraft, Warcraft III and others. It is a subsidiary of On-Media, an owner of several cable channels....
and MBC
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC (Hangul : 문화방송주식회사, Munhwa Bangsong Jushikoesa) is one of four major national South Korean television and radio networks. Munhwa is the Korean word for "culture". Its flagship terrestrial television...
to officially broadcast Brood War games.