South Korea’s Ministry of Science and Information Communications Technology (ICT) has vowed to support the country’s already burgeoning blockchain industry.
At a meeting this week between Second Vice Minister of Science and ICT Min Won-ki and blockchain startups at the blockchain technology firm Blocko in Bundang, the minister pledged his government’s support for new startups.
Part of the purpose of the meeting was to listen to reps from domestic blockchain companies and hear out some of the challenges that they faced in the industry. South Korea has long viewed itself capable of being a leader in the blockchain space in East Asia and is keen to cement this situation moving forward.
Min said, “Considering the fact that there is no significant blockchain technology gap between South Korea and the other countries, it is a good opportunity for South Korea to lead the industry. The government will actively back domestic companies to help them lead the global blockchain market.”
Earlier this year, the South Korean government invested KRW 4.2 million (USD 3.75 million) into improving public services using blockchain applications for customs clearance, history of cattle, and simple property transaction. One purpose of the meeting was to review the successes of these projects. A statement was released after the meeting:
“We decided to hold the meeting in camera in order to hear out what challenges and difficulties the industry faces without making any kind of adjustments. This was to collect a candid opinion from the industry and help the government speak frankly with the industry.”
Some interesting developments came from the discussions, such as ensuring that the government creates fair conditions for both domestic and foreign blockchain developers in order that they would be able to place separate orders for bidding on projects by developing a cloud-based blockchain development environment.
Other nations including South Korea are still fine-tuning the regulatory side of the industry. Canada has postponed its release of regulations until 2020, and China is presently struggling to manage legal cases related to cryptocurrency due to unclear regulations.
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