South Korea Invests $38M in Metaverse Fund for SMEs

Sejong, South Korea - The South Korean government has announced plans to establish a KRW 50 billion (US$38 million) "Metaverse Fund" to support domestic small and medium-sized enterprises in the metaverse sector. 

The move comes as private investment in the ICT industry declines due to global monetary tightening.

The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) will reinvest KRW 30 billion from the recovery of the Digital Content Fund, with the remaining KRW 20 billion to be raised from the private sector. 

The fund, managed by the Korea Venture Investment Corporation, will support M&A activities and overseas expansion of promising metaverse companies.

Despite the challenging economic environment, MSIT emphasizes the need for government support to help domestic metaverse SMEs and ventures expand their growth opportunities and compete globally. 

The fund's launch follows recent government strategies aimed at boosting exports and overseas expansion in the digital sector, as the metaverse is expected to continue growing through convergence with various digital technologies such as generative AI.