South Korea will spend at least $186.7 million, or 223.7 billion Korean won, to create its metaverse ecosystem, according to a statement from the country’s Ministry of Science and Information and Communications Technology.
The investment is a part of South Korea’s “Digital New Deal” — a set of policies that aim to help build out emerging digital technologies such as the metaverse and artificial intelligence platforms.
The government agency said the capital will go toward the metaverse in particular, which it hopes will become a platform enabling industries and businesses to thrive.
The metaverse has the potential to create 1.5 million jobs, and the country plans to produce over 40,000 professionals that specialize in the nascent space, the ministry stated in January. South Korea’s government, at the time, endeavored to make the country the fifth-largest metaverse market by 2026.