South Korean government vows to support domestic blockchain companies

The government of South Korea has pledged its support for domestic blockchain companies to further encourage the booming blockchain industry in the country, Business Korea reported.

On Thursday, September 20, Second Vice Minister of Science and ICT Min Won-ki held a meeting with blockchain startups at blockchain startup Blocko’s office in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province. The meeting was part of the government’s efforts to engage with businesses in the 10 key ICT sectors of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The government has taken a number of steps in the past couple of weeks to bolster the domestic blockchain sector. The Ministry of Science and ICT in June revealed that it is planning to raise 230 billion won ($207 million) by 2022, which will be allocated to some 10,000 blockchain experts and 100 companies, as well as to encourage the advancement and commercialization of six existing blockchain startups supported by the ministry.

The government has also announced its plans to introduce a classification system for the country’s blockchain industry. More recently, it revealed that it plans to invest over 1 trillion won in big data, blockchain, and sharing economy – almost double the amount it allocated for 2018.

At the meeting, Min listened to entrepreneurs who explained the challenges they currently face in doing business in Korea. The startups put forward a number of suggestions including creating a fair competitive environment between domestic and foreign blockchain solution developers, allowing placing separate orders of blockchain technology in project biddings, establishing cloud-based blockchain development environment, and providing support for R&D expenditures in the private sector.

The participants had free discussions on various topics including blockchain technology improvement plans to regulation improvement.

“We decided to hold the meeting in camera in order to hear out what challenges and difficulties the industry faces without making any kind of adjustments. This was to collect a candid opinion from the industry and help the government speak frankly with the industry,” an official from the ministry said.

The participants also reviewed the pilot blockchain projects, which have been initiated by the government from earlier this year with an investment of 4.2 billion won (US$3.75 million). The projects are aimed at expanding the blockchain market and enhance public services and include blockchain application in areas such as customs clearance, history of cattle, and simple property transaction.

“Considering the fact that there is no significant blockchain technology gap between South Korea and the other countries, it is a good opportunity for South Korea to lead the industry. The government will actively back domestic companies to help them lead the global blockchain market,” Min said.