South Korea to invest $187 million in its national Metaverse project

South Korea's Ministry of ICT, Science and Future Planning has pledged 223.7 billion won ($186.7 million) to create a broad metaverse ecosystem that will support the growth of domestic digital content and the development of businesses.

In an official statement on Feb. 27, the department wrote that the funding will be used to accomplish four main goals to create a full-scale metaverse called the Expanded Virtual World. system.

The government agency intends to use its Metaverse as a platform to amplify virtual industrial growth in cities, education and media.

Content creators will enjoy multifaceted support to attract the right talent to help build the platform. The department said it will host community-oriented creative events, a Metaverse developer contest, and a hackathon.

Hashed CEO Simon Kim noted that the new Metaverse platform is particularly focused on facilitating business expansion by providing financial support to participants. He told Cointelegraph today that he sees no problem with government funding because “the private sector is actively investing in the Metaverse market.” He continued:

“The government should pay more attention to regulatory issues. In South Korea, the distribution of NFT games is prohibited, and the issuance of tokens is also prohibited.”

Hashed is a South Korean crypto ecosystem venture capital firm and incubator. The firm has invested in metaverse projects such as Decentraland and The Sandbox.

The plan to build the Metaverse platform is part of South Korea's broader 'Digital New Deal', Park Yungyu, head of the Ministry of Communications and Policy, said in the statement. According to Park, the "Digital New Deal" is a set of policies designed to promote the development of digital technologies.

"Starting from building a world-class metaverse ecosystem, it is important to focus on cultivating new hyper-connected industries."

The unit also expects its Metaverse to have global coverage, as it will seamlessly integrate with Korean companies over time. It plans to support the growth of businesses by providing financial support and technology development.

Jason Ye, co-founder of multi-chain ecosystem accelerator DeSpread, called the new funding a 'positive sign' that the South Korean government is interested in the Metaverse. He told Cointelegraph today that opportunists trying to take advantage of it “should be filtered out” because of the money involved, but

"Excellent businesses building a digital economy in the Metaverse will be able to thrive with the support of the Korean government."

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has also been studying proposals for the public metaverse since last year. Last November, it announced tentative plans for the Metaverse 120 Center.

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