SK Telecom , Samsung , LG and others to launch blockchain identity service

SK Telecom announced that it is working on a blockchain based identity service with  Korean telecoms firms LG U+ and KT along with Samsung, KEB Hana Bank, Woori Bank and IT company Koscom. The firms will build the self-sovereign identity (SSI) app to allow users to manage their personal information.

to be released in 2020, the project will first be aimed at South Korea’s major universities. Proof of graduation is often needed, for instance, when applying for a job. If the applicant is using an SSI service, blockchain could allow the employer to verify that the information is authentic. SSI enables a user to control their own data using decentralized identifiers (DiD). The technical details have not yet been released, and blockchain’s role in SSI can vary significantly depending on the implementation.

The announcement points out that companies in telecommunications, tech, finance, and manufacturing have rarely come together for a blockchain consortium. Indeed, Hana and Woori are both top 5 banks in South Korea and the three telecoms firms combined make up nearly the entire mobile provider industry in the nation.