blockchain driving license

Blockchain-Based Driving Licenses in South Korea Hit One Million Drivers

Blockchain-powered driving licenses were made available as an option in South Korea in May.

Blockchain Digitizes South Korea

Since then, one million South Koreans have already leveraged this blockchain alternative, giving up their physical driver’s license. The blockchain-based driving license is offered to South Koreans, along with the PASS smartphone app, which is a transportation and travel app. Through the application, South Korean drivers can renew their digital licenses. As for non-permanent residents of the country, an English version of the license is offered as an alternative.

According to data from Statista, the number of South Koreans subscribed to the blockchain-based driver’s license represents more than 3% of the entire driving population in South Korea. The blockchain-powered driving license is the first digital identification card to be issued in South Korea, after the country’s Ministry of Science and ‘Information & Communications Technology’ (ICT) approved it in September 2019.

The blockchain-based project was officially launched in May, with the National Police Agency of Korea, the Korea Road Traffic Authority, and the country’s three major telecom providers SK, KT, and LG U+ collaborating to set the project in motion.

Just like the traditional ID card, the South Korean blockchain-powered digital card can be used for proof-of-age identification, buying alcohol and cigarettes, and much more. In order to provide proof of their driving license, users can show the PASS application, and flash the QR code on it.

Rental car industries and shared rides services are also interested in the blockchain technology, hoping to maybe use it in the future to replace face-to-face verification checks.

South Korea Loves Everything Bitcoin & Blockchain

Blockchain technology has been increasingly popular and revolutionized in South Korea. Earlier this week, South Korea’s largest commercial bank – Kookmin Bank – announced that they will start offering Bitcoin (BTC) custody services, thanks to a new partnership conducted with coin exchange Cumberland Korea and blockchain venture fund Hashed.

According to a blog post by Hashed’s legal compliance officer Jin Kang on August 7, Kookman Bank plans on normalizing cryptocurrency trade:

“KB Kookmin Bank, the largest bank of the four, anticipates that the digital asset industry will not only involve cryptocurrencies but also other traditional assets such as real estate, artwork, and other reified rights that will be issued and traded on blockchain platforms.”

Korea’s Jeju Island Introduces Blockchain-Fueled COVID-19 App for Tourism

To recover from COVID-19 tourism losses, South Korea has introduced a blockchain-powered digital app for visitors of Jeju Island to ensure safe travels.

Even among South Koreans, Jeju Island is a hot spot for tourism and boasts of approximately 15 million visitors per year.

COVID-19 Travel App

In order to stimulate the tourism industry during COVID-19 and to ensure safe traveling for all, a decentralized identity (DID) blockchain-fueled digital app was presented by South Korean Blockchain company ICONLOOP Inc. to ensure that COVID-19 contact tracing is secured. The mobile application, dubbed “Zzeung,” will be used to verify visitors’ identities when they arrive on the island. Through a verified credential on the application that will be emitted via a public blockchain network, users’ private information is guaranteed to be secured and safe from tampering.

Through the COVID-19 safety mobile app, visitors will be required to set up a personal fingerprint authentication or a PIN code to secure their profile. The information will be stored in a private blockchain network. Each visitor’s logs of visited places and identity-related information will be stored separately on the chain. All information is kept private unless there is confirmation of a COVID-19 case.

Blockchain Is the Future

With the adoption of a digital blockchain-fueled app like Zzeung, many in the blockchain industry think that this may create new ventures for the industry, and blockchain may be adopted by even more companies after COVID-19 has passed.

With the issuance of Zzeung mobile app, Korea’s Financial Services Commission has also publicly stood by the “innovative financial service” and advocated for its security and efficiency.

Blockchain Digitizes Driving Licenses

Jeju Island will not be the first to leverage blockchain technology to improve and enhance its public services.

Earlier this year, blockchain-powered driving licenses were made available to the South Korean population, replacing the traditional physical driver’s card. The blockchain-based driving license is reported to have already one million South Korean drivers subscribed to the innovative application. This translates to more than 3% of the entire driving population in South Korea.

With blockchain being increasingly leveraged for its security, transparency, decentralized features, and more, Asian countries are increasingly adopting the distributed ledger technology in their day-to-day business life to offer more efficient transactions.