A million South Koreans have rejected their driver’s licenses in the form of a plastic card in favor of a digital alternative on the back of the blockchain, and used a copy
This is more than 3% of the total number of drivers in South Korea. According to Statista, in 2019, there were 32.6 million people licensed as drivers.
This is the first authorized digital driving identification card that will be applicable to the whole territory of South Korea. It has been fully approved by the Ministry of education, science, and technology in September 2019.
The project was initiated by the National police agency in cooperation with the traffic control of Korea and three main telecoms, KT, SK, and LG U+. By the end of last month, around 27 South Korean driver license centers used the PASS application to prolong and reformulate digital drivers’ licenses.
The officially recognized solution for the identification can also be used to confirm the age, for example, in a range of stores selling alcohol and tobacco products. In this case, it is sufficient for users to provide a barcode or QR code by the application. Also, non-citizens of South Korea will receive English versions of the licenses.
Other industries, including services for the rental of cars and shared use, also consider the possibility of using the new identification method instead of previous systems.
South Korea is not the only country that considers introducing the ability to transfer driver licenses to digital formats on a blockchain network. An analogous initiative was designated back in late 2018 by the New South Wales government, who initiated a trial of digital licenses based on Ethereum, that could take the place of its physical counterpart.
