Recently, there was a report that gambling rooms where people play rock-paper-scissors for money in KakaoTalk anonymous chat rooms are popular among students.
There are cases where hundreds of people exchange hundreds of thousands of won at a time, raising concerns that young people are being exposed to gambling without protection.
Reporter Y, reporter Taewon Kim.
[Reporter]
When someone counts down to 5 seconds, the chat room sends an emoticon or initial consonant representing rock-paper-scissors.
Although it may seem like a simple game, it is actually gambling with money.
When you enter a related search term, a series of group chat rooms appear, some with over 200 people participating. The so-called ‘verification video’ posted on social media
claiming to have won hundreds of thousands of won in one game is so popular that it has been viewed more than 100,000 times. [Group A / ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors Room’ participant: From what I saw, it was about 200,000 won (at most)… .(If you have a lot of money, you play rock-paper-scissors by involving an intermediary.] However, in chat rooms, there are also stories about being able to use cell phones at school or going on experiential learning at an English village. Since it is anonymous and easily accessible to anyone, even young students are easily exposed to gambling.
[A / ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors Room’ Participant: I am currently in the second year of middle school. I saw it on TikTok and people said it was like a (simple) game, so I played it, but now that I think about it, it’s gambling again.]
All gambling except for legal gambling industries such as lotteries is subject to punishment in Korea.
However, there are exceptions in cases where it is just a temporary pleasure, such as Go-Stop, where relatives gather together during Chuseok.
The court comprehensively judges gambling offenses based on안전놀이터 the size of the stake, circumstances, and habitual nature.
Legal experts point out that considering the number and amount of participants in the rock-paper-scissors room in question, it could be considered a gambling crime.
[Kim Han-gyu / Lawyer: It is decided by taking into consideration things like the number of times, stakes, and the relationship between the parties. From a legal perspective, it is difficult to view it as a temporary pleasure.]
Recently, the problem of youth gambling addiction is becoming more serious day by day.
The number of youth under the age of 19 receiving hospital treatment for gambling addiction is increasing every year, from 48 in 2017 to 141 the year before last.
Additionally, a survey showed that the average age of teenagers who received addiction counseling fell from 18.2 in 2017 to 17.6 as of July of last year.
Kakao Talk said that it is monitoring the issue, but explained that sanctions can only be imposed if a participant in the chat room reports it directly or if there is a phrase suggesting gambling in the room title.
This is Taewon Kim from YTN .
