https://ift.tt/mlFvQoC metaverse draws South Korea’s investment with $187 million pledge

Recent indications have emerged that not only private businesses are betting big on the metaverse; authorities around the world have also become piqued with the space.

South Korea’s Ministry of ICT, Science, and Future Planning has pledged $186.7 million (223.7 billion KRW) to create a metaverse ecosystem. The ministry announced this in a recent official statement.

South Korea eyes huge roles for its metaverse project

With this development, the ministry will build a decentralized creator economy, nurture talents, and support firms developing VR/AR devices.

The ministry will not be doing this alone as it will be working with a pan-government council responsible for offering solutions to issues within the space.

Thus, the metaverse will be a platform that’ll look to expand the virtual industrial growth within the country. The goal is to create an ecosystem titled the “Expanded Virtual World.”

Park Yungyu, the Head of Communications and Policy Department at the Ministry, stated that metaverse investment is part of the “Digital New Deal” policies. The policies focus on developing digital technologies within South Korea.

Just recently, it was revealed that the Asian country was considering a 5-year strategy that would help it build professionals and companies that are specialized in metaverse technologies. This way, it would cement itself as a leader in the space.

According to Park:

“A world-class metaverse ecosystem is a starting point of a new hyper-connected economy.”

Stakeholders support the move

For a country whose most popular export in recent years has been its content and technologies, investing in the metaverse seems like the right idea.

Several stakeholders in the crypto community have commended the efforts of the government. Simon Kim, CEO of Hashed, a South Korea-based incubator and venture capital for the crypto ecosystem, expressed his pleasure.

Kim stated that the project is focused on commercial expansion. He added that there’s nothing wrong with the government investing in the sector when private companies are actively doing the same.

South Korean companies bet big on the metaverse

The South Korean government’s interest only reflects the general appetite in the country. Companies in the country have launched eight metaverse ETFs as of January this year, with over $1 billion inflows.

The country’s sovereign wealth fund, Korea Investment Corp (KIC), also stated that it’s planning to invest in Silicon Valley startups within the space.

Even municipal governments are getting involved in the metaverse. The Seoul government announced plans for a metaverse 120 center last year, stating that it’s exploring the idea of public space in the virtual world.