Valve Corrects Prior Misunderstanding Surrounding Mod Removal

Valve restricted the mod, titled Gwangju Running Man, in South Korea to abide by South Korea’s laws; the mod was later removed by the mod’s creator worldwide.

This is a correction of a previous misreporting from various news outlets, which assumed the mod was removed worldwide by Valve by the mod’s creator. The mod owner removed the mod from Steam themselves later on June 12.

The controversy surrounding the mod stems from its depiction of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising, which was a student-led pro-democratic demonstration in South Korea. The mass protests stood up against the authoritarian military government, which had seized authority through a coup in December 1979 after the assassination of President Park Chung-Hee. The protest was met with indiscriminate violence, resulting in numerous casualties and citizen anger. 

Within the mod, the protesters were given weapons and depicted as violent criminals. This is an inaccurate depiction of the protests, as the students had initially protested peacefully against the martial law. The students armed themselves after the military forces wielded excessive violence.
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