Metaverse Pan-Government Council Begins Discussions: "Regulatory Improvement and Focused Investment Needed"

Ministry of Science and ICT Holds 1st Meeting with Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Korea Communications Commission, Financial Services Commission, Personal Information Protection Commission, and Korean Intellectual Property Office

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] The government held the first meeting of the "Metaverse Intergovernmental Council" to examine major legal issues such as personal information protection, intellectual property rights protection, user protection, and youth policies in the era of the metaverse (extended virtual world).

The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) formed the "Metaverse Intergovernmental Council" on the 4th as a follow-up measure to systematically implement the "Metaverse New Industry Leading Strategy," with participation from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korea Communications Commission, the Financial Services Commission, the Personal Information Protection Commission, and the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and held the first meeting.

The first meeting, chaired by the Director-General of the Information and Communications Policy Bureau of MSIT, was organized and operated mainly by the relevant ministries in charge of legal issues that could arise first due to the increase in metaverse users, such as personal information protection, intellectual property rights protection, user protection, and youth policies.

Attendees included director-level officials from MSIT’s Software Policy Division (overseeing metaverse), Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (games, intellectual property), Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (youth), Korea Communications Commission (user protection), Financial Services Commission (innovative finance), and Korean Intellectual Property Office (intellectual property).

MSIT plans to use this council as a platform to thoroughly discuss major legal issues within the metaverse, identify key issues, and submit them to the "Public-Private Joint Metaverse Policy Council" chaired by the Minister of Science and ICT for future legislative and institutional improvements.

At the expert presentation during the meeting, Attorney Doyoung Song from Bit Law Firm explained that various personal information such as users’ location data and usage patterns can be continuously collected and used in the metaverse, presenting cases of abuse such as privacy invasion and infringement of youth’s personality rights, along with countermeasures.

Seungwoo Son, President of the Korea Intellectual Property Research Institute (professor at Chung-Ang University), pointed out the increasing intellectual property infringements and disputes as real-world works, trademarks, and designs are utilized and reproduced within the metaverse, and shared views on the necessity and methods of protection.

During the subsequent discussion among attendees, each ministry shared their positions and agreed on the principles of self-regulation, minimal regulation, and proactive regulatory innovation to avoid creating barriers that could hinder the development of the metaverse industry, considering technological and service advancements.

Yoonkyu Park, Director-General of the Information and Communications Policy Bureau at MSIT, emphasized, "To create a globally competitive metaverse ecosystem, regulatory improvement efforts and focused investment at the intergovernmental level are necessary during the initial 3 to 5 years of industry emergence," adding, "We will spare no support in building a metaverse platform that can lead the global market and realizing a model metaverse environment."