Korean Consortium to Launch DID system by 2020

Korean interest in blockchain-powered self-sovereign IDs continue.

This time, a consortium of some of Korea’s heavy hitters of finance, communications and tech are teaming up to launch a DID system by 2020. Participants include financial service firms KEB Hana Bank, Woori Bank and KOSCOM; mobile carriers SK Telecom, KT and LG UPlus; and technology giant Samsung Electronics.

Under the project, the financial service firms would certify the data, the telecom companies would manage mobile services, and Samsung would ensure secure management of the stored data using Samsung Knox. The consortium reportedly will pursue more partners after it launches in 2020, including major corporations, universities and hospitals.

Self-sovereign ID is a potentially revolutionary application of blockchain technology, one that would enable many of blockchain’s other use cases. Microsoft definitely recognizes its importance. ICONLOOP does, too, as does the FCS. Even Facebook seems to get it. 

The Korean consortium also demonstrates something we – well, everyone – has noted before, perhaps ad nauseam: Korean entities like blockchain, even as they remain reluctant to embrace cryptocurrencies. Jee Abbey Lee noted in Cointelegraph last month that Korean banks were rolling out a variety of blockchain-based services while avoiding digital assets like the plague. And last week, the government deferred – again – a blockchain-based remittance service’s application to enter Korea’s regulatory sandbox, citing the need for further discussion of cryptocurrency’s potential benefits and harmful side effects.

Also in the Korea blockchain space…

• S Korean Blockchain Sandbox ‘Leaving Crypto Companies in Limbo’

(By Tim Alper, Cryptonews, July 12)

Korea’s regulatory sandbox approved a handful of blockchain projects – including one from ICONLOOP – but it has left cryptocurrency projects in the cold, including ones hoping to pioneer blockchain-based remittance platforms. Basically more of what we wrote about above.

• Kakao says its blockchain mining process is up to 15 times faster than Ethereum

(By Yeo Jun-suk, Korea Herald, July 9)

In a recent press conference in Seoul, Kakao’s blockchain subsidiary Ground X claimed that Klaytn took just a single second to mine a block. Ethereum takes 15 seconds. Ground X is also claiming Klaytn gets 3,0000 TPS, compared to Ethereum’s 20 TPS.

• The richest in South Korea are actively investing in crypto, showing big interest

(By Joseph Young, Cryptoslate, July 8)

“Following the brutal correction of Bitcoin during which the price of the dominant crypto asset plunged from nearly $20,000 to $3,150, local analysts said that it would take a long time for individual investors to recover from the abrupt crash,” writes Joseph Young in Cryptoslate. “Growing efforts of chaebols, a term used to describe the wealthiest families in South Korea, could contribute to the recovery of the confidence of local investors over the long term.”

• Korea’s LG Launches Blockchain Supply Chain Platform for School Lunches

(By Marie Huillet, Cointelegraph, July 9)

LG CNS is doing its part to improve the transparency of the supply chain of your child’s school lunch by joining hands with local IT service provider SayIT to develop a blockchain-based system to track where the agricultural goods used in school cafeterias come from.

• KT seeks to leverage 5G tech in global fight against diseases

(By Yeo Jun-suk, Korea Herald, July 14)

From the Korea Herald: “To improve the disease prevention system, KT urged governments around the world to collect information on animal diseases and share this with each other. The company also pledged to protect sensitive information through blockchain technology.”

• Korean Watchdog Warns of Financial Stability Risk From Facebook’s Libra

(By Daniel Palmer, CoinDesk, July 8)

The Financial Services Commission is concerned that Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency could wreak havoc on existing financial systems, including the traditional banking industry. The FSC warned of reduced bank solvency, weakened ability on the part of central banks to control international capital flows, reduced effectiveness of monetary policy and Korean banks losing the trillions of won in revenues they currently make from remittances.

• Wehome Represents New Home-Sharing Model

(By KBS World Radio, July 8)

Blockchain powers this home-sharing community that is a bit similar to Airbnb but cuts out the middleman. As KBS World Radio puts it, “Wehome’s commission fee-free system allows hosts to offer homes at lower prices and gives the service a competitive edge against Airbnb, which currently dominates the market. Wehome has created, in a true sense of the word, a sharing economy led by individuals.”