SK, LG U+ and KT Join Samsung and Banks on Blockchain Project

All three of South Korea’s major mobile carriers, KT, SK and LG U+, have joined forces with Samsung, banks KEB Hana and Woori and financial IT firm Koscom to collaborate on a blockchain-powered mobile identification platform.

The consortium says its platform, which should be available on almost all South Korean smartphones as of 2020, will use Samsung’s Knox security solution. The platform, say the operators, will allow users to do away with personal data management intermediaries, and will also allow users to store and use their social security numbers and bank account information on mobiles in safety.

Per Boan News, the platform will make use of Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) technology, an identifier that provides verifiable, self-sovereign digital identity solutions.

The consortium says, “We will plan a strategy that will allow them to apply blockchain-powered mobile electronic certification to various industries. […] We are market leaders in our respective industries.”

The new platform marks the first time mobile carrier rivals SK, KT and LG U+ have collaborated on a blockchain project – despite the fact that all three companies have been working at a furious pace on their own blockchain offerings.

LG U+ has recently been unveiled as one of the governance council members of Kakao’s ambitious new Klaytn blockchain platform.

Meanwhile, SK has recently announced, per Newspim, that it will make an investment in a blockchain fund led by ConsenSys – headed by Joe Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum.

And per Maeil Kyungjae, KT revealed earlier this month that it will expand its local stablecoin project to Ulsan – South Korea’s seventh biggest city, home to major shipbuilding enterprises and one of the most affluent parts of the country.