South Korean government launches blockchain pilot for container shipping industry

South Korea’s Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning has launched a blockchain pilot in collaboration with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to explore the technology’s potential in the container shipping industry, CoinDesk reported.

Starting today, the one-year pilot will be conducted at the major southern port of Busan. According to the official release, it is one of the six major public demonstration projects of the "Blockchain Technology Development Strategy" announced by the government in June 2018.

The project aims to look into the potential of blockchain technology to enhance transparency of the shipping process, allow sharing of information between parties in real-time, and improve the efficiency of the overall import and export business operations.

The companies participating in the pilot include Busan New Port International Terminal, Hyundai New Port, Busan New Port Co., Ltd. (Container Terminal), Hyundai Merchant Marine (Shipping Company), and Lotte Global Logistics (Shipping Company).

"We expect that the blockchain technology will be used in various fields such as port logistics, where various parties are involved and data sharing is important in order to improve business process and service innovation,” the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said in a statement (via online translation).

Based on the pilot results, the ministries will consider expanding the blockchain technology to other ports and areas in the country.

Last month, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Election Commission (NEC) announced their plans to develop a blockchain-based online voting system.