KT Signs MOU to Apply Blockchain to Donation Platform
Platform construction scheduled for next year following application in Laos
P2P donation platform enabling person-to-person donations
With the donation season approaching as the weather turns chilly, KT is stepping up to establish a transparent donation culture using blockchain.

KT announced on the 4th that it has signed a business agreement with the KT Group Hope Sharing Foundation and will build a blockchain-based donation platform.

Currently, the KT Hope Sharing Foundation operates 'GiveSq (www.givesq.org),' a donation portal where users can accumulate points through volunteer activities and donate their accumulated points. Under an agreement, KT and the KT Hope Sharing Foundation will apply blockchain technology to GiveSq to upgrade it into a platform that transparently discloses in detail when, where, and how much of the points donated by individuals have been spent.

Until now, donors could not know exactly where their donations were being used. Furthermore, issues such as the lack of knowledge regarding the operating expenses or commission rates of charitable organizations, the long delays in disbursing funds, and the difficulty of making small donations have hindered the revitalization of the donation culture.

However, by applying KT blockchain technology, donation records, donation execution details, and donation delivery channels are all shared on a distributed ledger and managed transparently. In addition, by providing a function that allows donors to directly monitor how their donations are actually executed to help vulnerable groups, it is expected that donations will be further encouraged and a sound donation culture will be established.

Under the agreement, KT and the KT Hope Sharing Foundation plan to pilot the application of blockchain to the 'Infectious Disease Prevention Donation Campaign for Children and Residents of Laos' within this year, and next year, they plan to renew Give Square based on blockchain to implement 'P2P donation,' which allows for direct donations and verification of usage details between individuals.

When P2P donation is implemented through a blockchain-based donation platform, individuals can donate directly to specific people or organizations without the need for an intermediary organization to act between the donor and the recipient. Furthermore, by linking donation usage with credit card data, it becomes possible to verify where funds are spent, monitor the process in real time, and even encourage additional donations.

In particular, if P2P donation becomes active, there is an advantage in that vulnerable individuals who have previously been in donation blind spots due to a lack of reach from organizations can directly share their stories to receive donations, or victims of domestic crime can receive small donations.

Meanwhile, KT has been operating a dedicated blockchain technology research and development organization since 2015 and is pursuing various blockchain-based businesses, including finance, data storage, authentication, and energy trading. In particular, K-Token technology, a blockchain-based cryptographic token technology, has been applied to the mobile gift certificate service 'Giftishow' to provide secure transactions, and is also set to be introduced to the Gimpo City local currency platform to be used like cash without concerns about hacking, theft, or misappropriation.

Seo Young-il, Head of the Blockchain Center at KT Convergence Technology Institute, said, “Through the establishment of this blockchain donation platform, we have demonstrated that KT’s blockchain can be fully utilized for public interest purposes such as donations.”