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South Korea may soon do away with plastic \u2013 and ditch physical forms of ID in favor of blockchain technology-powered alternatives.<\/p>\n
Smartphone ownership is estimated to be upward of 88% in South Korea \u2013 with some sources<\/a> claiming the figure may be as high as 95%. And tech firms, the government, the police force, and banks have responded by launching initiatives aimed at doing away with plastic driver\u2019s license cards and social security ID cards. Instead, they now favor blockchain-powered digital alternatives.<\/p>\n Woori Bank, one of the nation\u2019s largest commercial banks, announced that it would begin actively \u201cpromoting the issuance and use of mobile driver\u2019s licenses\u201d at the 2022 International Security Industry Expo, E Today<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n Bank staff will begin informing customers on how to go about receiving a blockchain-powered ID. These digital cards can be obtained on-the-spot by using machines in nationwide branches of the National Police Agency and the Road Traffic Authority.<\/p>\n Banks \u2013 such as Woori \u2013 have also begun accepting smartphone-based driver\u2019s licenses<\/a> as a form of identification at branches this year.<\/p>\n The move comes hot on the heels of a report from Bloomberg<\/a> this week, which quoted Suh Bo-ram, the Director-General of South Korea\u2019s digital government bureau, as stating that smartphone-based ID cards would be the norm by 2024.<\/p>\n Suh told the news outlet that the government hopes to roll its solution out in 2024. Seoul hopes to transition 45 million of its 52 million citizens onto the cards by 2026.<\/p>\n Suh also confirmed that the solution will make use of decentralized identity (DID) solutions (also known as distributed identity authentication). He called the solutions an \u201cadvanced strand of blockchain technology.\u201d<\/p>\n Suh stated:<\/p>\n \u201cEvery service that hasn\u2019t been able to fully transition online will now be able to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n DID solutions have been in the pipelines for several years in South Korea.<\/a> Both the private sector and the government are keen to develop contact-free, online ID solutions that make use of blockchain technology. Tech giants like Samsung and LG have entered the fray, with some predicting a coming \u201cwar\u201d of rival blockchain-powered ID offerings.<\/p>\n Following a successful launch in 2020, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security announced in July this year that citizens nationwide could use mobile driver\u2019s licenses stored on its own app.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, two of Woori\u2019s rivals, Kookmin Bank and IBK Industrial Bank, announced that they would use DID services to allow military personnel online access to banking products.<\/a> The solution will allow soldiers to prove their identities without the need to visit bricks-and-mortar branches.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nBlockchain ID Push Intensifies<\/h2>\n
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