A significant Seoul blockchain push is underway, as the South Korean city prepares to use the promising technology for providing citizen ID cards. Park Won-soon, the mayor of Seoul has recently announced this.
As the world increasingly sees the value of blockchain beyond cryptocurrencies, more and more blockchain use cases are emerging. Businesses and governments alike are exploring the technology, whether to build decentralized businesses or to improve government service delivery.
In this growing chorus to embrace the technology, several countries have made a head-start, and South Korea is certainly one of them. Market observers point out that the country is emerging as an important blockchain innovation hub.
Building an ecosystem is the key to the growth of an emerging technology in a country, and governments have a role to play here. The South Korean government officials realize that, and this is evident from their earmarking a significant portion of their $4.4 billion “Growth through innovation” fund to blockchain.
Seoul is certainly not lagging behind! As a Statista report indicates, the market for blockchain technology is rapidly growing in the city. According to the exchange rate at the time of writing this article, this market will expand to $0.3 billion in 2022 from a modest $0.017 billion in 2016.
A Seoul blockchain initiative that matters
Government service delivery should simplify the life of a common citizen, and the government in the city recognizes the potential of blockchain here. The city government has undertaken a blockchain-based citizen ID cards project.
Identity management is emerging as a key set of blockchain use cases, as experts observe. Among various blockchain identity use cases, ID verification is a prominent one, and governments can take advantage of this to improve service delivery.
Park Won-soon, the mayor of Seoul, speaking in the Korea Future Forum 2019, announced that the city government is collecting urban and administrative data using blockchain. They will use this data for various government service delivery, which includes citizen ID cards.
Several large businesses are also investing in blockchain identity solutions. For e.g., Microsoft is working on a blockchain-powered identity solution. In another example, Thomson Reuters recently won a blockchain identity management patent.
A key move for the future of blockchain in South Korea
Considering the importance of proactive government actions for an emerging technology to flourish in a country, South Korean government officials certainly seem to be on the right track. Seoul will not lag behind, as far as blockchain is concerned!
