South Korea OKs Blockchain Certificate Use in Public, Private Sectors

The South Korean government will allow the use of blockchain-powered public certificates beginning in December this year.

Per Hanguk Ilbo and UPI News, Seoul says that it will make amendments to the nation’s existing Electronic Signatures Law that will allow for citizens and companies to make use of blockchain-powered certificates – allowing businesses to use these certificates in their dealings.

Existing laws allow for some public institutions to make limited use of blockchain-powered certificates, but the new rules will expand their use in the public sector, and will also open them to the private sector.

The government is taking part in a large-scale public-private sector blockchain-powered decentralized ID (DID) platform drive. Most of the country’s major commercial banks, telecoms providers, and smartphone makers like Samsung and LG are taking part in the initiative. The new amendment will help provide a legal framework for the DID system.

Additionally, existing blockchain certificate portals make use of ActiveX controls – a fact that often forces users to download a number of additional software extensions.

This can be a long and prohibitively slow process for many users. However, the new amendments will do away with ActiveX download requirements – and speed up processes.

The same rules also apply to biometric certificates, and make up part of the government’s wider policy to boost contact-free, digitized documentation to mitigate the financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.