The government¡¯s decision to push through a law banning youngsters from playing online games from midnight to 6 a.m. has raised controversy recently.

Dubbed the ¡°Cinderella law,¡± it regulates Korean online game companies, requiring them to cut off services at midnight for registered users under the age of 16.

The bill submitted to parliament at the end of last year was drawn to keep minors from playing online games late at night. It was proposed amid growing concerns over increasing problems from Internet addiction.

A middle-school boy in Busan committed suicide after killing his mother after she scolded him for playing games excessively.

Also, a three-month old baby was found dead in Seoul due to malnutrition in March after her parents were spending 12 hours a day at online gaming.

Officials of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family believe that many kids play online games all night long and have trouble living normal lives in the daytime, including studying at school.

They believe the law is necessary to ensure the health of youngsters giving them enough sleeping hours for them to grow.

They also point out that online games can be dangerous. Once addicted to the games, it is extremely hard to be free of them, especially young kids.

However, many Korean game companies are against the policymaker¡¯s decision. They are concerned that strict restrictions will hinder the growth of the games industry.

Some game firm executives also point out that the new regulation does not make sense since the cyber world has no limits and boundaries in terms of access. Young players can use other games based in foreign countries freely without restrictions if Korean firms stop providing services after midnight.

The effectiveness of restricting game playing hours is also under scrutiny since the law does not cover other game sources like various console games and portable devices including advanced smartphones.

Amid the controversy, however, government officials made it clear that the problems will be fixed after the law takes effect.