Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is about to face its 1st anniversary of establishment, is going to research on ways to introduce blockchain technology to prepare relevant laws and systems.
Other public organizations are also assessing possibilities of applying blockchain technology to daily lives.
According to industries, Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution recently put out a bid for ‘research on ways to introduce blockchain-based Smart Contracts to public areas’.
This is the first time Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution publically announced research and services regarding blockchain technology.
Selected research institution will establish legal definition on Smart Contract for 3 months and analyze examples and effects of application of Smart Contracts in public areas by major countries. It will also look for countermeasures towards legal issues that impede application of Smart Contracts in public areas.
Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution is planning to prepare legal and systemic basis for introducing Smart Contracts in public areas based on this research.
Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution is an organization directly under President Moon Jae-in and it is composed of 20 private members and 6 government officials. ‘Operation and regulation regarding establishment of Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution’ was voted on the 16th of August of 2017, and Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution was established on the 11th of October.
This bid indicates that organizations under South Korean president are also considering use of blockchain technology. It seems that results from this research will be a type of ‘priming water’ while other departments are also preparing ways to utilize blockchain technology. Actually, government departments such as Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, National Election Committee, and Korea Customs Service and local governments are preparing for pilot blockchain projects.
Recently, The Bank of Korea also started testing blockchain technology on money transactions between individuals. Range of testing has expanded not only to financial network of The Bank of Korea where payment and settlement between financial organizations take place but also to micropayment of Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute.
“We welcome the fact that this research and services will open up public blockchain markets.” said Senior Attorney Koo Tae-un of TEK&LAW. “However, results from this research must not act as ‘technical barriers’ that put out particular standards whenever public sectors order blockchain businesses.”
Staff Reporter Ham, Jihyun | goham@etnews.com