Korean devs have been unable to publish in China since March 2017

Over a year since first instigating the ban, China is still refusing to license South Korean games for distribution in the region.

According to a report in Business Korea, the ban came about over Korea's deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Defence (THAAD) missile system.

A report from Korean app analysis company IGAWorks titled '2017 Performance report of Chinese mobile games in Korea' found that the Korean games industry is suffering as a result, while Chinese devs push aggressively into the reigion.

Last year there were 136 Chinese mobile games released in Korea through Google Play -- 22 more than the year prior -- and accounted for $10.16 million of the market's $163 million revenue.

Additionally, over the first six months of this year, 91 Chinese mobile games have released in Korea and ten of the top 30 games in the region were from Chinese developers.

Meanwhile, Korean game companies have been unable to launch in China since March 2017, despite approval for over 400 foreign games being granted by the Chinese government last year.

Applications for publishing licences from Netmarble, NCsoft, Bluehole, and Pearlabyss have all been denied; PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds was only published on mobile in the region thanks to Tencent.

"We are protesting with the issue of distribution permits, but the Chinese government is not responding," a spokesperson from the Ministry of Culture, Sport, and Tourism told Business Korea.

However, this is not currently a problem exclusive to Korean develoeprs, after it was revealed that growth of the Chinese games market slowed to a crawl over the last quarter.

A report from Beijing-based research firm CNG, and China's official gaming association GPC, found that growth fell to single digits for the first time in a decade as the newly-formed State Administration of Radio and Televisions (SART) has not issued any publishing licences since March this year.