The South Korean government has been actively showing its support of the country’s Web3 and Metaverse industry. Aside from investing hundreds of millions of dollars to create its own metaverse ecosystem, the government is now preparing to introduce the regulatory framework for the space.
A member of the National Assembly, Heo Eun-ah, recently proposed the enactment of the Metaverse Industry Promotion Act to aid the Web3 industry’s growth. Eun-ah’s proposal is also backed by a number of National Assembly members, according to Cointelegraph.
The proposed bill will task the Metaverse Policy Review Committee, which will be directly under the Prime Minister, to deliberate on policies that would help foster the Metaverse development in the country. Meanwhile, the Minister of Science and Information and Communication Technologies will help steer the growth of the industry by defining a final plan every three years. The bill will also offer incentives to companies that will switch their operations and maintain a presence in the Metaverse.
The South Korean government’s budget for Metaverse-related projects is expected to reach 195.4 billion won (US$140 million) next year, based on data from the Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technologies. The Ministry announced in February that it has allocated 223.7 billion won (US$186.7 million) for the virtual world platform under Expanded Virtual World.
The government has shown increasing interest in the Metaverse as two of the country’s top retailers integrated artificial intelligence and metaverse for the platforms in a bid to improve customer satisfaction. A joint group of private and government published last month a draft of the Expanded Virtual World Ethics Principles, which focused on potential issues businesses and individuals might encounter in the metaverse such as personal data and copyright protections.
Another positive development that might help nurture new metaverse projects is South Korea’s central bank’s decision to lift the 2017 ban on initial coin offerings (ICOs). However, the ban’s removal won’t likely happen until next year.
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