South Korea blockchain research gets $380M boost

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The Ministry of Science and Technology of South Korea will invest KRW450 billion (~$382 million) to boost blockchain research and development, ZDNet Korea reported. This investment will occur over a six-year period starting in 2021 and running through 2026.

While no official statement has been made by the ministry, several sources said the goal is to create a foundation of data economy powered by blockchain. According to a government official, “The data trust problem must be solved in order for the data economy to become active. A blockchain can create a trust base for data sharing.”

In October, the Korea Internet Security Agency (KISA) set aside $9 million in funding to be distributed to six startup companies to work on 10 different projects in the upcoming years. In the ambitious project will include developing a new ID verification system that will be implemented within one of the regions of South Korea for testing.

The government is also reportedly working on several other projects at this moment including the development of smart contracts which should have a dramatic impact on boosting cross-platform connectivity. It should also improve security as well as increase the utilization of these contracts.

What appears to be a focus of many of the initiatives is building greater confidence with customers so that they can be confident that their data will be secured, and blockchain technology appears to be the solution for many developers and government agencies. This is helping South Korea to achieve its goal of becoming the “world’s leading blockchain nation,” while developing technology that helps to improve the country’s economic and global status.