South Korean telcos and police to develop digital driver licences

South Korean telcos and the Korean National Police Agency have partnered up to develop a digital driver’s licence service.

SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus will use the identification app, dubbed PASS, which is currently used for authentication in mobile financial transactions to create the new driver’s licence service.

Subscribers of PASS will eventually be able to register their driver’s licence on the app and receive a QR code or barcode for verification purposes.

The digital driver’s licence will be accepted by police as a suitable form of identity verification, the telcos said.

The telcos are currently working with police to link their PASS database to the latter’s driver’s licence register. PASS currently has 25 million users and is used by subscribers from all three telcos.

The Ministry of Science and ICT has also given permission for the project to be trialled under a regulatory sandbox program.

The digital driver’s licence service is expected to become available during the first quarter of 2020.

The telcos said users will keep their own private information on their smartphones and that they would only manage a  limited amount of data by applying blockchain technology.

They also have plans to expand the usability of digital licence to shared-car services as well. 

SK Telecom is currently working with Deutsche Telekom to develop a borderless blockchain ID that could be used like a passport to ease authentication processes.

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