South Korea to Invest $177 Million Directly in Metaverse Platforms

The government of South Korea has announced it will start investing in metaverse projects directly. More than $177 million dollars will be invested to kickstart national jobs and companies in this field, according to statements made by Lim Hyesook, minister of science and information and communication technologies. South Korea is one of the first countries to put funds into this field.

South Korea Gets Into the Metaverse

While more VC firms and companies are actively investing in the future of the metaverse, some nations are also preparing to invest in this new area to secure the future. South Korea is one of them, having recently announced it is going to invest directly in companies and initiatives related to the metaverse.

The investment, which will amount to $177.1 million to kickstart the national industry, was announced by the minister of science and information and communication technologies of South Korea, Lim Hyesook. He stated the metaverse is “an uncharted digital continent with indefinite potential,” showing the possibilities the South Korean government sees in this new technology.

The investment is part of the new tech focus South Korea has included in its Digital New Deal, a set of guidelines that the government is following to push citizens to transition to a fully digital society.

A Virgin Field

While there are various companies and firms that are already investing in the metaverse, there are not many countries that have gotten into such investing directly. This is likely because there are many regulatory questions still unanswered about the operation of metaverse companies and the intersection of Web3 technologies, which can include a cryptocurrency element in the mix.

Javier Floren, CEO of NFT startup DNAverse, thinks that the metaverse and crypto experiment will be largely influenced by regulation. He stated:

It’s going to depend on how different countries approach the legal side. With any new technology or disruptive ecosystem and new places to interact, there will be issues, challenges, and for sure dangers.

However, with South Korea actively entering into metaverse investments, other countries might follow. About this possibility, Everest Group partner Yugal Joshi told CNBC:

Some things are happening in bits and pieces but I believe this does tell you that governments are starting to take this more seriously because it’s a platform where people come together. Anything which makes people come together, it makes governments interested.