Samsung SDS, the IT branch of the South Korean electronics giant, has announced a beneficial contract with the Seoul’s authorities to make its contribution to the development of ‘information strategy’ plan. This assumes applying blockchain technology towards the city’s entire administration.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government aims at increasing transparency for the government services, improving public safety and transportation affairs in the city by 2022. The city authorities have already defined a number of sectors for blockchain applications. These include welfare, safety, traffic and other municipal affairs.

Initial applications will see blockchain as a secure, immutable logbook used for recording personal information of citizens, paying out allowances to unemployed youth and the sale of used car deeds. The long-run objective is broad expanding of civic convenience and administrative transparency with blockchain technology powering the city’s entire municipal administration in four years.

According to Hong Won-pyo, CEO of Samsung SDS, “Samsung SDS intends to contribute to the city becoming a world-class city by strengthening the transparency, fairness and civic convenience through its own blockchain technology and consulting capability.”

Under to the terms of the contract, the task of Samsung SDS is to assess the environment and chart a roadmap toward both ‘introducing and broadening blockchain technology throughout the city’s municipal government’ over the next five months. Samsung’s software unit will design and propose future models along with plans for their systematical implementation through the city’s authorities and the public sector.

Blockchain technology is the world’s leading software platform for digital assets. This technology presents a systematic approach to creating and controlling data. Since data on the blockchain is not centralized, it is safer than conventional means of copying and storing of information which is protected from damaging owing to keeping multiple duplicates in diverse locations, all of which need to coordinate to affect any changes.

As for Samsung SDS, the company has already had experience in working on blockchain solutions. In particular, it created the Nexledger platform and having tested its capabilities applied it to the Samsung Card. The platform provides digital payments, identity and authentication services powered by blockchain tech, so it will be an effective solution for shipping logistics.

Samsung is the first company in Korea that introduces blockchain technology to the public sector. In May, the company’s pilot project for Korea’s shipping and logistics industry had success with its first trial run of a Korea-China shipment, and its entire logistics chain process, facilitated by a blockchain.

Many governments worldwide are interested in the blockchain technology. Ukraine used it to thwart land fraud, the Republic of Moldova recorded identity data on the chain to combat child trafficking. British think tank Reform UK insists on using blockchain by the government to identify authentication and verify processes. Furthermore, the technology will enable citizens to securely manage their own identity information.

The post Samsung SDS Partners with Seoul Government for City-Wide Blockchain Project appeared first on CoinSpeaker.