South Korea Welcomes Blockchain-powered Driver’s Licences on Mobiles

South Koreans will soon do away with plastic driver’s license cards – and make use of a blockchain-powered ID solution for smartphones. Or, at least, this is the plan.

The country’s Ministry of Science and ICT has approved a plan whereby all three of the country’s major mobile carriers – SK, KT and LG U+ – will operate an app that stores digitized versions of driver’s licenses on customers’ mobile phones. The South Korean police force has also green-lighted the move.

Drivers will be able to use a new app, named Pass, to scan existing driver’s licenses. These will be approved by police software, and uploaded to a blockchain-powered platform that makes use of police servers.

Once the driver has uploaded the scan, the app produces a QR code. Police officers will then be able to scan this QR code and then view the digitized driver’s license on their own handsets.

The ministry says that the blockchain-powered solution will help “reduce costs and prevent crimes caused by the loss and theft of ID cards.”

The government has also confirmed that the new driver’s licenses will be accepted as proof of age in stores and cinemas.

Per media outlets eDaily and SBS, the new licenses are likely to see the light of day “in early 2020,” and the three carriers will collaborate with the police on technological solutions.

Last year, the state government of Australia’s New South Wales conducted a state-wide pilot for a similar driver’s license digitization solution, also making use of blockchain technology. The state is hoping to digitize other official documentation using blockchain technology, including high school diplomas, as well as birth and death certificates.