South Korea spends big to become games powerhouse

Millions to be pumped into sector

By James Sherwood • Get more from this author

5th December 2008 12:18 GMT

The South Korean government wants its games industry to become a force to be reckoned with. So it’s promised to pump hundreds of millions of Won into the sector over the coming years.

In a meeting held earlier this week, Yu In-chon, Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister, said that KRW350bn ($237m/£161m/€186m) would be invested into the nation’s videogames sector between now and 2012.

He promised to slice the money up between 60 different games-related projects, which are yet to be created.

The aim is to ensure that South Korea’s videogames exports are worth roughly KRW5tr ($3bn/£2.2bn/€2.6bn) each year after the investment, which would see it rival North America and Japan.