The Korean government will establish a fund to support private space startups.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the government will create a 50-billion-won fund ($38.5 million) by 2027. This fund will be operated by the Korea Venture Investment Corp, and it will be dedicated to investing in the private space sector.

The ministry will accept applications from potential asset operators for the fund from April 3 to 7. The goal is to build a 50-billion-won fund by 2027, with an initial investment of 5 billion won to raise a 10-billion-won fund-of-funds this year.

“While many private space startups are leading the new space era overseas, the local space industry is still in its infancy, and therefore the majority of local space companies are small or in their early stage,” said the ministry in a March 7 statement.

The program aims to foster the private space sector in the private-led new space era. It is the first of its kind in Korea, and all space-related companies will be qualified for investment, according to the ministry.

The ministry stated that, while many private space startups are leading the new space era overseas, the local space industry in Korea is still in its infancy. The majority of local space companies are small or in their early stage, and they lack financing.

The fund will provide support for local space companies that have growth potential.

“In order to put the Korean space economy on track, vitalizing the private space startup ecosystem is essential,” said Cho Sun-hak, director general of the space and big science policy division at the Ministry of Science and ICT.

“We expect the fund will be at the forefront of pioneering the space economy,” Cho added.