- Korean Government will replace existing ID cards with Digital IDs for smartphone users.
- Citizens can use digital IDs for money transfers, state benefits, and casting votes.
- According to the digital govt bureau, Korea could gain $42 billion within a decade.
The South Korean government plans to boost economic growth by offering a digital identity protected by blockchain to its most tech-savvy citizens, as per the recent reports released by Bloomberg.
Mobile IDs are the latest emerging technology underpinning the digital economy’s rapid expansion as more people work from home, pay with cashless methods, and explore the metaverse.
Reportedly, the adoption of digital ID simplifies web verification, eliminating the need for certificates to be photographed or authentication codes sent via text. Digital IDs will make activities like transferring money, applying for state benefits, and even casting a vote as simple as entering a pin.
Hwang Seong-wan, Economist at Korea’s Science and Technology Policy Institute while briefing on the latest Korean innovation said:
Digitals IDs can yield huge economic benefits in finance, healthcare, taxes, transportation, and other areas and may catch on quickly among the Korean population.
Korean government hopes to bring complete online transformation in all services and sectors according to the Korean digital-government bureau. The bureau’s director general stated that Korea could reap at least 60 trillion won ($42 billion), or 3 percent of GDP, in economic value within a decade.
Moreover, there are very less reasons to be concerned about the privacy and security of digital IDs as per the Korean authorities. As the system relies solely on decentralized identity, the government will not be able to access information stored on individual phones, including the use of digital IDs, how and where they are being used.
In a research based on digital IDs by McKinsey which underlies the importance of digital authentication, states:
When well-designed, digital ID not only enables civic and social empowerment but also makes possible real and inclusive economic gains—a less well-understood aspect of the technology.
The Portulans Institute, a Washington-based think tank, believes Koreans’ enthusiasm for early adoption is also a key to their digital achievements. Portulans ranks Korea among the top 3 network-ready countries in Asia and the Pacific.
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