South Korea may be one of the first countries in the world to regulate the metaverse industry. Recently, parliamentarian Heo Eun-ah proposed a bill on the subject in the Assembly.
Other politicians in South Korea supported the legislative proposal dealing with digital universes. The bill provides for the establishment of a Metaverse Policy Review Committee.
As such, this committee would be subordinate to the country’s prime minister. In addition to the committee, regulating the metaverse in South Korea will involve the Minister of Science and Information and Communication Technology.
South Korea seeks to encourage the metaverse industry by proposing incentives for companies that have migrated their activities to a digital universe. However, in return, these businesses must offer complete protection of user data.
In addition to a bill, South Korea will invest US$140 million in the sector by 2023. At the beginning of 2022, the country had already declared a budget of US$186.7 million for developing virtual worlds.
The country created an ethics manual for the industry in August of this year called “Ethics Principles of the Expanded Virtual World”. South Korea is also investing in its metaverse and has spent about US$200 million on the project.
The adoption of metaverses is growing in South Korea, which may pass a bill soon for this industry. The legislative proposal was submitted on September 2, 2022, and companies in the country are already offering products and services in digital universes.
