The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Internet & Security Agency announced that they will pursue pilot projects to discover excellent use cases for blockchain, a core technology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Blockchain is a promising future technology that implements the Fourth Industrial Revolution by enhancing data security and transaction efficiency across various industrial sectors. The Ministry of Science and ICT has been conducting pilot projects since 2017 to promote the adoption of blockchain technology across all industries.

① Transparent Electronic Voting System (National Election Commission)
As the application of online electronic voting expands into high-value public sectors such as party primaries and university presidential elections, higher levels of security are required. By applying blockchain technology, which has the characteristic of making stored data difficult to forge or tamper with, to the electronic voting system, reliability in voting processes and results is secured and the use of online electronic voting is expanded.

② Blockchain-based Electronic Document Issuance Authentication System (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
International opinion has continuously raised the need to establish on a blockchain basis the issuance records (1.3 million cases as of 2017) of 'Apostille certificates' separately issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Justice for Korean-issued documents (official documents and notarized documents) to be recognized overseas.

By proactively establishing a 'blockchain-based apostille management system,' the reliability of overseas utilization of documents issued by Korea is enhanced, and international standardization of global apostille management systems is pursued.

③ Reliable Livestock Product Traceability System (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs)
Traceability information is managed and disclosed to the public for all stages from cattle birth through raising, slaughtering, processing, and sales stages; however, this relies on reports from implementing entities and may contain errors, and real-time verification is insufficient.

Through the establishment of a 'blockchain-based livestock product traceability system' that collects traceability information in real time from IoT sensors and links it to blockchain, real-time sharing and verification systems for traceability information are established to enhance consumer confidence and reduce administrative burdens related to various distribution-related documents.

④ Paperless Smart Contract-based Real Estate Transaction Platform (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)
Currently, various real estate certificates are required in real estate transactions (sales, loans, etc.), incurring social costs, and paper certificates have high possibilities of forgery and tampering, frequently leading to criminal abuse.

To address this, blockchain technology is introduced into the existing comprehensive real estate information system, and a real estate smart transaction platform that provides real estate transactions as a one-stop service through linkage with financial institutions, judicial scriveners, and licensed real estate brokers is pilot-established.

⑤ Fast and Efficient Smart Personal Customs Clearance Service (Korea Customs Service)
As personal overseas direct purchasing is increasing sharply, various participants (e-commerce companies, international express carriers, customs, etc.) face inconvenience in information sharing, with customs declarations being handwritten and transmitted in the customs process.

The smart personal customs clearance service, where multiple stakeholders participate together in blockchain, shares information generated at each distribution stage from product purchase through shipment to arrival in real time via blockchain to safely protect against forgery and tampering and efficiently improves customs clearance procedures.

⑥ Youth Activity Support Online Platform (Seoul Metropolitan Government)
Currently, various youth support projects such as youth allowance and student loan interest support programs require applicants to separately prepare and submit required documents for qualification verification at the time of application, and document verification takes over one month, which has been reviewed as an area for improvement.

The youth activity support online platform links document-issuing organizations (National Health Insurance Service, Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service, universities, Seoul Metropolitan Government, etc.) via blockchain to significantly reduce the hassle of document preparation and submission and verification time required, and provides diverse customized youth support programs based on linked data.

Choi Young-hae, Director of Internet Convergence Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, emphasized that "blockchain is a core technology to usher in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and is a universal technology that can be applied not only to finance but also to all services requiring trust such as logistics, distribution, authentication, and electronic voting," adding "Through this pilot project, we expect the advantages of blockchain technology to be utilized in the public sector as well as be connected to demand creation in the private sector."