South Korea has indicated that its citizens will have access to blockchain-based digital identification from 2024 instead of physical ID cards, which shows that the country is embracing blockchain technology. They plan to boost the economy with digital ID on Blockchain, which they will implement from around 2024.
On the 17th of October, Bloomberg published a report, and according to this report, the Korean government has plans to see the ID card of the citizens in digital form as an app within mobile devices. These ID cards will work in a similar function to physical resident registration cards.
This blockchain-based digital identification system is expected to be launched in 2024, and it is expected that around 45 million citizens will have adopted the technology within two years.
Hwang Seogwon, Korea’s Science and Technology Policy Institute’s economist, said that these digital IDs could be used in healthcare, taxes, transportation, and finance. Suh Bo Ram, the Director-General of Korea’s Digital Government Bureau, said this digital technology could help businesses that have not yet transitioned fully online.
Suh also said that the plan would also see the government adopt a decentralized identity system, which means the government will not have access to information stored on phones. This will include the usage of digital IDs and where and how they are used.
According to Portulans Institute, which is an American think-tank, Korea ranks first among all nations in applying technology to life, business and government, and this digital ID technology is not new to the country.
It would not be the first blockchain-based digital ID solution in the country, because it had previously implemented a blockchain-powered driver’s license in 2020, on which the government began pilot testing. However, Korea is leading the way from other nations in applying digital things like blockchain and Metaverse.
Brenda Gentry, Blockchain Advisor and CEO of Bundlesbets.com, told Cointelegraph that the ID management system could be much more capable and decentralized, but it will still need recognition from government authorities or corporations.
