‘The block chain technology, which attracts attention as a `game changer` technology that changes the existing industrial structure such as finance, distribution, and logistics, is rapidly taking the lead in the US and China. This is due to the two nations that are trying to divide the global IT industry are vigorously investing talent and capital in securing the block chain technology. In Korea, there is a growing sense of crisis that countries like Japan, Australia, Switzerland and other countries that did not have a strong presence in the country could be pushed as it is because there is no national strategy.

According to industry sources on April 18, developed countries such as Japan, Britain, Australia, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, including the United States and China, are taking the initiative in establishing a block-chain ecosystem.

Block-chain technology, which refers to distributed cryptographic authentication technology, is well known in the US and China. According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), as of the end of January, the US (497 cases) and China (472 cases) are in the lead in the number of patent applications related to the block chain. The rate of overseas applications (44.98%), which is an indirect indicator of the quality of the patent application, is the overwhelming leader in the United States, but since 2016, the number of patent applications has surpassed that of the United States.

The United States and China are also accelerating the creation of an industrial ecosystem. The federal government is in charge of establishing a block-chain introduction roadmap and finding development projects since June last year. Each provincial government is also pursuing a policy of activating the block chain. The Chinese government initiated a working group of public-private participation block for the economic revitalization of China in 2016, and from last year it is leading the industry by promoting the block-based RMB electronic money project.

Meanwhile, the Japanese government announced in March that it would apply the block chain to the government procurement bidding system. Most developed countries, such as Australia, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, are indirectly supporting industry by promoting block-related public projects.

On the other hand, Korea has been slow to develop technology and industrial ecosystem. In the patent application for the block chain, the gap between the US and China is 99, which is the third largest. Especially, last year, 10 applications were filed and 41 cases were dropped in 2016. In the block chain industry, the industry has been stagnant due to government regulation in a situation where the proportion of the currency is relatively high. In this situation, as experts have led the IT industry in the past government led, the block chain also points out that the government should pursue strategic development through policy, public works and R & D support.

"The block chain is a paradigm that changes the traditional transaction method and industry process," said Oh Se-hyun, vice chairman of SK Telecom`s block chain business development unit at the KAIST meeting held at Yeouido National Assembly Hall in Seoul. The government should take an active policy with reference to successful cases in Japan. "

Professor Kim Yong-Dae, a professor at KAIST, emphasized, "It is urgent to cultivate high-tech talents in special fields such as block-chain security and distributed systems, as it is the recent trend to combine the original research for designing a new block chain and the applied research utilizing it." "The ICO, which is similar to the IPO of the stock market, is funded by a simple procedure and is rapidly growing globally, but the Korean government has banned ICO of all forms last year, He said.

"I cannot think of the block chain and the ICO ecosystem algorithm as separate, and it should not be cut to the old standards," Oh said. Jeon Jae-jin, Chairman of Korea Block Chain Association`s autonomous regulation committee, pointed out that "there is a new continent that is bigger than internet, and that the government is ruining the opportunity for Korea to become a silicon valley of block-chain ecosystem."

Seo Young-il, chief of the block chain center of KT Convergence Technology Institute, said, "Cryptography is a small part of the block chain, and the block chain cultivation policy should be expanded separately."

By Lee Gyung Tak kt87@


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