The private businesses are betting big on the metaverse, but authorities around the world have also been piqued by the space.
South Korea's Ministry of ICT, Science, and Future Planning pledged to create a metaverse ecosystem with $186.7 million 223.7 billion KRW. The ministry made a statement.
The ministry will build a decentralization creator economy, nurture talents, and support firms developing VR AR devices with this development.
The ministry will not be doing this alone, as it will be working with a pan-government council that will be responsible for presenting solutions to issues within the space.
The metaverse will be a platform that will try to expand the virtual industrial growth within the country. The goal is to create an ecosystem called 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 in 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. It would cement itself as a leader in the space.
For a country whose most popular exports have been its content and technologies, investing in the metaverse seems like the right idea.
Several stakeholders in the community have praised 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 said that there was nothing wrong with the government investing in the sector when private companies are actively doing the same.
The interest of the South Korean government only reflects the general appetite in the country. There were eight metaverse ETFs launched by companies in the country as of January this year, with over $1 billion inflows.
The country s sovereign wealth fund, Korea Investment Corp KIC, also stated that it plans to invest in Silicon Valley startups within the space.
Even the municipal governments are getting involved in the metaverse. The Seoul government announced plans for a metaverse 120 center last year, stating that it is exploring the idea of public space in the virtual world.