While some global economies are troubled by turmoil over price instability and a collapsing ecosystem in crypto, South Korea is increasing the metaverse’s potential as a new economic growth engine.
South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT announced an investment in a special fund to drive metaverse initiatives in the country. According to the official announcement, the South Korean government invested 24 billion Korean won ($18.1 million) to create a fund of more than 40 billion Korean won ($30.2 million) for the development of the metaverse.
With the help of the Metaverse Fund, South Korea will support mergers and acquisitions of various companies in the metaverse ecosystem. The government cited major tech companies’ interest in the metaverse as reasons for investing in the fund.
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The government agrees that it is difficult for local players to raise capital through private investment, because of the underlying investment risks. As a result, in addition to mergers and acquisitions, South Korea intends to help domestic metaverse-related companies compete with global players, adding that “we plan to actively support them.”
In January, Seoul launched a digital replica of the city in the metaverse. As reported by Cointelegraph, the South Korean government spent about 2 billion won ($1.6 million) for the first phase of the metaverse project.
However, South Korea keeps checking and balancing cross-border threats in the physical world. In February, the country announced its first independent sanctions related to cryptocurrency theft and cyber attacks against certain North Korean groups and individuals.