South Korea Plans to Invest $187M in a National Metaverse Project

South Korea is reported to be preparing a $187 million investment in a national metaverse platform.

The metaverse trend appears to be on the rise, with South Korea being the first government to indicate interest in developing its own metaverse initiative. As a result, the government would spend $186.7 million to encourage the development of a metaverse platform where businesses and industries can thrive.

The Ministry of ICT, Science, and Future Planning in South Korea has committed 223.7 billion Korean won ($186.7 million) to the creation of a comprehensive metaverse ecosystem to support the growth of digital content and corporate growth in the country.

According to an official statement released by the ministry on Sunday, funding will be used to complete four primary objectives in the creation of what looks to be an all-encompassing metaverse environment known as the "Expanded Virtual World."

Content makers will be assisted in attracting the best personnel to help expand the platform on several fronts. According to the ministry, community-oriented creative events, a metaverse developer contest, and a hackathon will be held.

The new metaverse platform, according to Hashed CEO Simon Kim, is focused on increasing commercial expansion by giving financial support to players. He told Cointelegraph on Monday that he does not believe the government should subsidize the metaverse market because “the private sector is actively investing in the metaverse market.” He further added, “”it is the regulatory issue that the government should pay more attention to. In Korea, publishing of NFT games is prohibited, and token issuance is also prohibited.‍

Hashed is a crypto ecosystem venture capital and incubator based in South Korea. It has backed initiatives like Decentraland and The Sandbox in the metaverse.

The plan to establish a metaverse platform, according to Park Yungyu, chief of the ministry's communication and policy department, is part of South Korea's broader "Digital New Deal." According to Park, the Digital New Deal is a series of policies aimed at fostering the growth of digital technology.

“It is important to create a world-class metaverse ecosystem as the starting point to intensively foster a new hyper-connected industry”, said Park Yungyu.

The ministry also envisions that its metaverse will have a global reach as a result of seamless access to South Korean companies over time. It intends to support corporate growth by providing financial assistance and technology advancement.