Entrusting 'Kong' Distribution to Blockchain... Enhancing Transparency

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] Blockchain technology will be introduced in the distribution process of open-field crops such as soybeans. It is expected to contribute to price stability by enhancing distribution transparency.

The police will incorporate blockchain for digital evidence management. By ensuring the integrity of each flow stage such as hash value calculation, sealing, analysis, and destruction, they plan to guarantee citizens' information rights and increase the reliability of law enforcement.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 16th that it will hold an integrated briefing session for the 2020 blockchain projects on the 17th with the Korea Internet & Security Agency, the National IT Industry Promotion Agency, and the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation, and will announce public leading pilot projects with these contents.

Selection of Public Leading Blockchain Pilot Projects

The public leading pilot projects are initiatives to proactively introduce blockchain technology into the public sector to innovate public services and secure the initial blockchain market. This year, a total of 7 billion KRW will be invested in 10 projects. The government conducted a preliminary demand survey for projects targeting about 400 national agencies, local governments, and public institutions, and selected 10 projects.

As these projects aim to create a blockchain market, various initiatives were selected. Besides the open-field crop distribution system by the Rural Development Administration and the digital evidence management platform construction project by the National Police Agency, lifestyle-oriented projects such as the welfare benefit duplicate receipt management platform, Gangwon-do type chronic disease integrated management platform, and Busan City's smart water quality management system for water supply were selected. Furthermore, future-oriented projects such as Gyeongsangnam-do’s decentralized identity (DID)-based regional public service platform and Sejong City’s blockchain-based autonomous vehicle trust platform were also chosen.

Support for Private-led Blockchain Projects

Additionally, the government will select and support through open competition the 'Private-led National Project' which supports the development and early commercialization of blockchain services that can be used in daily life based on private sector ideas (with a budget of 4.8 billion KRW). It will also invest 16 billion KRW in 24 research and development projects to secure global competitiveness in blockchain technology. Furthermore, 5.7 billion KRW will be invested in projects to foster blockchain specialized companies, including blockchain service model design and technology verification, and blockchain demand-supplier consulting.

The Ministry of Science and ICT stated, "We plan to present suitable support projects for blockchain technology specialized companies and support some projects so that they can be linked to follow-up support projects after the completion of the respective projects."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.