Team Korea has paid its entry fee for next year’s Louis Vuitton Cup (America’s Cup Challenger Series) hitting another important milestone on the road to San Francisco in 2013. This marks the first time a team from Korea has challenged for the America’s Cup.

“I’m very happy to see Team Korea take this next step,” said Iain Murray, the Regatta Director for the 34th America’s Cup. “The challenges faced by any America’s Cup team are immense; it’s just a massive project, so to see the Korean team tick another box and move to the next stage is very encouraging.”

Next, the team will need to finalize its boat design and begin building its own AC72, for which the major components must be constructed in Korea as per the Rules of the event.

Team Korea has already proven itself a solid competitor in the AC World Series and heads to the final event of the 2011-12 season in Newport this month in fifth place. The team is led by young skipper Nathan Outteridge, who made his debut in the AC45 class this past April in Naples, and proved a quick study, leading the team to good results. A strong performance in Newport could see Team Korea finish as high as fourth place in the Season Championship.

Team Korea joins Artemis Racing (SWE), Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) and Luna Rossa Challenge (ITA) as challengers for the 34th America’s Cup. ORACLE TEAM USA, led by skipper Jimmy Spithill and based in San Francisco, is the Defender.

Following a unanimous vote from the competitors the entry deadline for challengers was recently extended by two months to August 1st.