The government will invest $186.7 million to help metaverse development that it believes would attract firms and industries.

The Ministry of ICT, Science, and Future Planning in South Korea has committed 223.7 billion Korean won ($186.7 million) to creating a comprehensive metaverse ecosystem to support the growth of metaverse development, digital content and corporate growth in the country.

According to an official statement released by the ministry on Sunday. Funding will be used to complete four primary objectives and to create what looks to be an all-encompassing metaverse development known as the “Expanded Virtual World.”

The government agency plans to use its metaverse to expand the virtual industrial expansion of cities, education, and media. Content makers will attract the best personnel to help expand the platform on several fronts. According to the ministry, community-oriented creative events, a metaverse developer contest, and a hackathon will be held.

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According to Hashed CEO Simon Kim, the new metaverse platform is focused on increasing commercial expansion by giving financial support to players. He does not believe the government should subsidize the metaverse market because “the private sector is aggressively investing in the metaverse market.” He went on to say:

“It is the regulatory issue that the government should pay more attention to. In Korea, publishing NFT games is prohibited, and token issuance is also prohibited.” Hashed is a crypto ecosystem venture capital and incubator based in South Korea. It has backed initiatives like Decentraland and The Sandbox in the metaverse.

According to Park Yungyu, chief of the ministry’s communication and policy department, the plan to establish a metaverse platform is part of South Korea’s broader “Digital New Deal.” According to Park, the Digital New Deal is a series of policies aimed at fostering the growth of digital technology.

“It is important to create a world-class metaverse ecosystem as the starting point to intensively foster a new hyper-connected industry.”

Because there would be seamless access to South Korean enterprises over time, the ministry intends its metaverse to reach worldwide. It plans to help corporate growth by providing financial assistance and technology advancement.

According to Jason Ye, co-founder of multichain ecosystem accelerator DeSpread, the additional support is a “good indication” that the Korean government is interested in the metaverse. He told Cointelegraph on Monday that opportunists who try to profit from it “should be screened out” because of the finance involved, but that:

“Outstanding companies building a digital economy in the metaverse will be able to thrive with the Korean government’s support.”

Since last year, Seoul’s municipal government has considered its alternatives for a public metaverse place. The tentative plans for a “Metaverse 120 Center” were announced last November.