A subsidiary of Netflix will invest $100 million in South Korea over the next six years to build special visual effects facilities in a move that will help turn the country into an Asian hub for high-tech content creation, Seoul's industry ministry said Friday.

Scanline VFX will carry out the investment plan by 2027, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. An event to officially announce the plan took place in central Seoul, with Stephan Trojansky, the head of the global visual effects company, in attendance.

Scanline VFX's investment comes amid intensifying competition in the local video streaming market led by many players, including Netflix and their push to create Korean originals after global hits of such dramas as "Squid Game" and "Hellbound."

Scanline VFX, established in 1989 in Munich and recently acquired by Netflix, is working on various projects not just for the US streaming service giant but also for many global brands, such as Warner Bros. and Marvel Studios. It is known for creating special effects for the US popular series "Game of Thrones."

"Its investment marks the first of its kind in Asia to build facilities for movies' special effects that utilize virtual reality rendition technology," the industry ministry said in a press release.

"It will lay the groundwork for South Korea to emerge as an Asian hub for content production based on information and communication technology," the ministry added.

The industry ministry promised to provide all possible support under relevant laws to help facilitate Netflix's planned investment in the high-tech movie production sector down the road. (Yonhap)