South Korea Sponsors Blockchain Hackathon
South Korea’s continued commitment to investment in the future was solidified last week when it confirmed the decision to invest 5 trillion won (approx. AU$6.2 billion) into eight key innovation sectors. The focal points of these sectors include big data, artificial intelligence, and of course, blockchain.
The Korean commitment into blockchain technology goes further than simply investment however, with the recent announcement of a government sponsored ‘Blockchain Hackathon’ to run in late November.
The event has been co-ordinated as a joint effort between the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) and Korea IT Industry Promotion Agency (KIPA), with support from the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT. The latter mentioned Ministry of Science has previously shown an interest in blockchain technology, notably co-ordinating a blockchain awareness program planned to run in to 2019. Its aim is that by 2022, it will increase the number of specialised blockchain companies with global competitiveness to more than 100. It plans to do so by employing 10,000 experts and securing 90% of the technological capability of the world’s top countries.

The Hackathon’s focus will be on “solving social problems and innovating public and private services through blockchain technology, and the development of distributed apps (DApps) […] for improving the efficiency of the private sector, providing nationwide benefits”.
The winning team stands to receive a prize worth 100 million won (approx. AU$122,700,000). Applications are open until the 28th of September.
Kim Seok-hwan, the KISA director, was quoted stating: “by participating in this competition, everyone will have the opportunity to participate and contribute”.
It is evident that blockchain technology is on the forefront of South Korean minds, as the country moves towards the future of finance.

By Wilson Bell
