South Korean government to trial blockchain-based online voting system

South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Election Commission (NEC) have announced their plans to develop a blockchain-based online voting system.

This was first reported by ZDNet. According to the official release, the new system leverages blockchain technology for storing and verifying voting results. It will go on trial in the private sector in December.

Blockchain technology will help improve the transparency and security of the voting process, the government said.

In contrast to the existing online voting system, dubbed ‘K-Voting,’ the new system will help boost trust by storing the data on a distributed network and allowing all voters to view voting results as they progress.

The blockchain-based system will be initially used in the surveys conducted by Seoul National University's Blockchain Society and Korea Internet & Security Agency, starting in December. Based on the success of the trial run, the NEC will decide whether the system can be used for online voting in the future.

The NEC also intends to add artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and IoT technology to further upgrade voting systems.

The Ministry of Science and ICT in June revealed that it was 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.

Recently, South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Science and ICT have announced a project to use blockchain technology for tracking beef throughout its supply chain. In addition, the Ministry of the Public Administration and Security plans to establish an “intelligent government roadmap” with central and local government bodies to operate a “smarter” e-government by using cutting-edge technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data.