South Korea has just become the first East Asian country to legalize medical marijuana. But it may be the second to put voting on the blockchain. Japan is already trialing the technology to allow citizens to cast votes on “social contribution projects.”
South Korea has been an advocate of blockchain technology though it has a strict stance towards cryptocurrency. It makes sense that it would follow in Japan’s footsteps.
Voting on the Blockchain in South Korea
Democratic voting on the blockchain is one of the most controversial applications of blockchain technology. Switzerland has trialed blockchain voting already, and it was a success. Rumors suggested that Sierra Leone had used the technology in its 2018 election, but those rumors turned out to be false. West Virginia State also developed a blockchain app for voting.
Now South Korea’s National Election Commission (NEC) and its Ministry of Science and ICT have confirmed they’re developing a blockchain-based voting system. The revelation has been reported first by ZDNet.
Previous Attempts
This isn’t South Korea’s first time to try an online voting system. In 2013, it developed K-voting, an online voting system that was a disaster due to hacking and fraud concerns.
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However, hope is high for the blockchain trial because this system will use the blockchain to validate voters and protect votes. The South Korean government believes this will increase transparency and security and improve trust in a digital voting system.
Next Month
The trial will begin in December and will be used first on national interest surveys to gather responses. Should the trial be successful, the NEC will make the call on using it for official democratic voting.
It will be interesting to see how this goes and if South Korea will be voting on the blockchain for general elections and the likes.
Featured Image: Depositphotos/© peshkova
