Government Determined to Foster Virtual Reality Industry: 'Will It Be Different This Time?'
Published2016.07.11 20:15The government has rolled up its sleeves to foster the virtual reality industry.
The government announced measures to revitalize investment at the Trade and Investment Promotion Meeting held on the 7th, and stated that it would formulate and promote the virtual reality sector, which was included in the agenda, through a joint effort by relevant ministries including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The announcement was derived from an analysis of the current status and competitiveness of the domestic virtual reality industry and consultations with the VR industry. It includes major projects such as leading initiatives by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, content production support, and virtual training systems, as well as various plans including the establishment of a specialized virtual reality fund, R&D tax credits for virtual reality technology, and global promotion leveraging the Seoul VR Festival and the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
First, the plan is for the government to provide seed funding to induce various research and development (R&D) and content production as a large-scale demand creation strategy, and to support the creation and expansion of new virtual reality markets led by the private sector.
Accordingly, starting in 2017, leading virtual reality projects currently being promoted around VR games and VR theme parks will be expanded to include architecture, education, and medical fields to encourage the creation of an early virtual reality ecosystem.
In addition, production of content applying VR to various cultural content genres such as games, movies, broadcasting, and theme parks, as well as sports and tourism sectors, led by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.The plan is to provide support to enable the creation of various VR content.
Develop Sangam DMC into a hub for industrial development
In addition to supporting the production of convergence content, mentoring and creator education centered on the Culture Creation Convergence Belt, such as the Culture Creation Academy, will also be expanded.
Second, the strategy is to establish Sangam DMC as a hub for industrial growth by concentrating support functions such as occupancy support, infrastructure support, technology support, and workforce training, and to strengthen global expansion capabilities through initiatives such as hosting the Seoul VR Festival.
First, to support the substantial growth of domestic VR companies in their early stages, we are supporting VR startups to move into Sangam Nurikim Square. In addition, it supports tenant companies by expanding infrastructure such as VR-related filming, production, and development equipment and broadcasting systems for their utilization, and permanently exhibits excellent content and R&D results at the Digital Pavilion while also supporting follow-up development.
We are promoting its development into the world's largest VR festival centered around Sangam DMC, with the participation of large, medium, and small enterprises and CPND companies in the virtual reality sector.
Granting tax benefits to VR investment companies through VR technology R&D tax credits
Third, we will establish an investment ecosystem to facilitate market entry for small and medium-sized content companies in the virtual reality sector, and support improvements to laws and systems to ensure a safe usage environment and promote popularization.
First, a '(tentative name) Virtual Reality Specialized Fund' worth a total of 40 billion won will be established to enable small and medium-sized content companies with excellent technology, solutions, and content production capabilities to enter the VR market more actively.
In addition, the government plans to encourage companies to invest in research and development (R&D) in the VR sector by including VR technology in the New Growth R&D Tax Credit (up to 30%).
We plan to create a safe usage environment by researching the human health effects of VR content, such as potential dizziness, and to support the development of an ecosystem for VR indie developers and startups through initiatives such as developer competitions.
A government official stated, “In this year, dubbed the inaugural year of the VR industry, relevant ministries including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will join forces to work together to foster the VR industry and establish an ecosystem.”
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