Korea's government is backing the nation's games industry with a 350 billion won investment -- $200 million -- until 2012, aiming to expand the country's game exports to 5 trillion won ($3.39 billion) a year. According to a report in Korean news publication Digital Chosunilbo, Culture, Sports and Tourism Minster Yu In-chon revealed the plans in a recent meeting, citing the potential for the games industry to drive future growth. As evidence, Yu said that Korea achieved its goal to reach $1 billion in game exports two years earlier than planned. Yu will establish the $200 million fund as one of 60 projects he'll draw up to grow the Korean game business, aiming to help the country join Japan and the U.S. among the world's three biggest game markets. A new report from the UK's National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts recently recognized that Korea's game business was on the rise, as part of a report proposing various solutions to help the UK avoid being pushed back into fifth place behind it.