South Korea’s Science Ministry to develop ethical principles for the metaverse
South Korea’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Information and Communications (MSIT) recently released a set of key ethical principles that underpin growth and participation in the Metaverse.
The three core values of Metaverse participants are preserving identity, safe enjoyment, and sustainable prosperity.
MSIT has proposed eight principles to adhere to when participating in the Metaverse. Authenticity, autonomy, reciprocity, respect for privacy, fairness, data protection, inclusiveness and accountability.
To ensure that the principles are applicable to Metaverse use cases, MSIT will gather feedback from relevant departments, experts, industry, and civil society and will finalize the draft by the end of 2022.
MSIT also addressed growing concerns about how users interact online, including copyright, youth protection, and personal information.
MSIT also plans to create regulations on data privacy. social and economic equality; identity control; and freedom of creative expression as it is seen as a genuine ethical concern in the metaverse.
New Deal 2.0
In July, the country announced its Digital New Deal (New Deal 2.0) plan, which will invest 9 trillion won to cultivate a “world-class metaverse ecosystem.”
The investment will be used to establish the Metaverse Labs, which will drive the development and commercialization of Metaverse-related technologies, and the Metaverse Academy, which will train and equip developers and creators with technical and artistic skills.
In addition, the government will use this money to fund startups and increase the number of companies specializing in the metaverse from 21 in 2019 to 56 in 2022 and 150 in 2025 through core technology development and content creation support. We plan to increase it.
Also on the agenda is a plan to create an “open metaverse platform” using data and authoring tools so that anyone can develop and participate in content.
South Korea and the Metaverse
South Korea’s plan to create a set of ethical principles for the Metaverse is part of its ongoing efforts to become a pioneer in the crypto industry. In January, the ministry announced his five-year plan to build the world’s fifth largest metaverse industry by 2026.
In this plan, the ministry outlined four key strategies for the Metaverse. The first strategy is to establish a metaverse platform that enables virtual access to public services, and the second is to train professionals in the metaverse.
The third and fourth strategies are aimed at nurturing the company and establishing ethical principles and regulations for the metaverse, respectively.
