South Korea to invest $48B in blockchain, AI, 5G

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South Korea is looking to digitalize its economy and will be spending over $48 billion on blockchain, artificial intelligence, 5G, the Internet of Things and other modern technologies. Blockchain will be applied in logistics, decentralized identification and more.

President Moon Jae-in unveiled the ‘Korea New Deal’ this week, with the key focus being the digitalization of the country’s economy in the next two years. President Jae-in’s government intends to invest 58 trillion won, seeking to make Korea a global leader in the digital era.

“The fourth industrial revolution and digital civilization are the future of humanity,” he stated.

Blockchain will be one of the key technologies that the digital future of the East Asian nation will be anchored on. According to a report by ZDNet, the technology will be applied in shipping and logistics, with the country’s ports expected to integrate the technology into their operations.

Blockchain will also be integrated in identification services, the government revealed. According to Choi Ki-young, the Minister for Science and ICT, the government plans on “introducing a blockchain-based mobile identification card to revitalize the digital economy.”

This decentralized identity (DID) card will be vital in the digital era, with the citizens getting to use it to access all government services. It will contain crucial information such as the driver’s license, the address, the resident registration number and more.

“By applying the decentralized ID (DID) technology, we eliminate the risk of forgery and alteration, which can be a problem when using IDs on mobile devices,” the Minister stated.

Additionally, the government will be relying on blockchain to enhance security as it digitizes its services.

South Korea has been integrating the technology in public services for years now. According to the outlet, the country now has 120 pilot projects that have integrated blockchain into public services.

Other technologies that the government intends to invest in heavily include 5G, AI, the Internet of Things, cloud computing, big data, machine learning and robotics. These technologies will allow the country to digitize every other sector, from learning and manufacturing to public services and health. South Korea estimates that the digitalization efforts will create at least 567,000 jobs.

In order for artificial intelligence (AI) to work right within the law and thrive in the face of growing challenges, it needs to integrate an enterprise blockchain system that ensures data input quality and ownership—allowing it to keep data safe while also guaranteeing the immutability of data. Check out CoinGeek’s coverage on this emerging tech to learn more why Enterprise blockchain will be the backbone of AI.