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The South Korean government is literally doubling down on its efforts to trial blockchain in the public sector, adding more projects and increasing available funds for 2019. The Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) – a sub-organization of the Ministry of ICT – has said it is aiming to increase the number of blockchain pilot projects in the public sector from six this year to 12 in 2019, as CoinDesk Korea  reported on Tuesday. “In the next year, we are considering expanding blockchain pilot projects in the public sector to 12, and plan to support more than three private-led blockchain national projects,” said Min Kyung-sik, head of KISA’s blockchain team. Further, the government agency will also boost the blockchain pilot budget for 2019 to more than 10 billion Korean won, or $9 million, in addition to the previously reported $9 million fund for both 2018 and 2019. In June, the Ministry of ICT revealed a development plan that would see it work with other relevant...

The government of a South Korean province will issue its own blockchain-based digital currency in a move to replace a state loyalty scheme, local media first reported Monday, August 27. Officials in Gyeongsangbuk-do will partner with blockchain startup Orbs to create Gyeongbuk Coin, which it will roll out to consumers in lieu of the existing “Hometown Love Gift Cards.” Gyeongsangbuk-do includes South Korea’s fourth-largest city, Daegu, with Gyeongbuk Coin set to see merchant acceptance across the region. “There are still many problems to be solved by notifying merchants of the way they use coins, creating separate programs, and issuing coins,” The News Asia quotes Sunghyun Chung, head of the science and technology policy department of Gyeongsangbuk-do as saying. “ Cryptocurrencies , however, are a core technology to be accepted.” As Cointelegraph continues to report, South Korean legislators are moving ever closer to wider integration of cryptocurrency nationwide. Current...

A group of judges, lawmakers and industry experts in South Korea are forming a new group aimed to discuss legal issues surrounding blockchain technology. Called the Blockchain Law Society, the group is holding its founding conference on Aug. 24 in the Seoul Central District Court, during which participants will discuss both regulatory issues around blockchain and how to utilize the tech in the legal space. According to a press release published Monday, Jung-yeop Lee, the presiding judge of the district court in the city of Daejeon, founded the organization as an industry-led initiative intended to foster dialogue within the country’s justice and legislative arms, as well as elsewhere in society. “Blockchain Law Society was founded not only to study blockchain technology from a legal aspect, but also to promote interdisciplinary collaborations across diverse areas, such as economics, computer engineering, field business,” the announcement said. Initial topics to be addressed at th...

The South Korean government will invest over $880 million next year in order to boost the development of innovative technologies including blockchain. According to a government release on Tuesday, deputy prime minister Kim Dong Yeon hosted a ministerial meeting on Aug. 13 to address the administration’s investment plan for innovation growth in the next five years. Data  disclosed on the website of the Ministry of Economy and Finance shows that the government is set to allocate 1 trillion won (about $880 million) in 2019 – an 80 percent growth compared to that in 2018 – for technologies including blockchain, big data and AI. Further, the authority said it will invest a total of $8–9 billion in the same areas over the coming five years. The goal is to “focus on promoting big data and AI, developing blockchain technology to ensure data management security and boosting the sharing economy,” according to the statement. The high-level investment plan doesn’t yet provide...

South Korea is showing a greater interest towards the field of cryptocurrencies, budgeting upwards of one trillion won (around $880 million) for the fields of blockchain technology, AI, and the sharing economy.  South Korea Doubles Investment in Blockchain According to an official press release , South Korea will invest a total of 5 trillion won (around $4.4 billion) in its “Growth Through Innovation” plan. The strategy will fund a total of eight pilot projects, which plan to develop a “platform economy” comprised of a digital platform for big data analytics and transactions, as well as a hydrogen fuel cell supply chain. South Korea plans to invest a total of between 9 and 10 trillion won in the initiative, recognizing the nationwide impact that it would have on other industries. The official release also places an emphasis on blockchain-based technology as an important part of boosting the sharing economy: The government will focus on promoting big data and AI, ...

South Korea’s Jeju island is seeking to become a free zone for initial coin offerings (ICOs) – a plan, if approved, would allow crypto projects to conduct token sales in the self-governing province despite the country’s tough stance on the issue. Korean news outlet JoongAng Daily reported on Monday the governor of the Jeju province has proposed the plan in a meeting last week with central government officials and lawmakers including Korea’s finance minister. Governor Won Hee-ryong indicted that with the proposed plan, he intends to make Jeju island a blockchain hub where projects that focus on innovation will be free to host ICOs as a way to finance their companies and services. The aim, according to Won, is “for Korea to become a leader rather than a consumer of this new global industry.” In addition, as part of the plan, Won is also seeking to form a task force with officials from both the Jeju province and the central government as well as industry experts, in a bid to ad...