Is It True That People Have Died In South Korea After Playing Computer Games Excessively?

Yes. In 2006, a 28-year old South Korean man named Lee died after a marathon 50-hour playing session on the game Starcraft. Lee played the game in an internet café in the city of Taegu and apparently only took short breaks to go to the bathroom and sleep. He ate very little during his game session and eventually collapsed. He was taken to the hospital but died shortly afterwards, presumably due to heart failure. The man was unemployed, having recently being dismissed from his job because of excessive game-playing.

The previous year a 4-month old baby in the South Korean city of Incheon died from suffocation after being left alone at home while both of its parents went to an internet café and played a computer game. When the couple reported the death to the police, they were charged with criminal misconduct. They claimed that they had not intended to spend so long playing the game that night but got caught up in it and ended up staying longer than expected.