South Korea's defense acquisitions agency building a blockchain platform to improve operations

South Korea's military acquisitions agency, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), is developing a blockchain platform to improve business operations.

DAPA has signed an agreement with three national defense institutions for the initiative - the Defense Agency of Technology and Quality (DTaQ), the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and the Korea Defense Industry Association (KDIA), as announced late last month.

The blockchain platform aims to improve the procurement of military equipment, equipment logistics, and the appropriation of funds. The agency looks to explore several other use cases, including certification, import and export approvals and the management of defense raw materials.

Kim Tae-gon, senior planning and coordination officer at DAPA, said: "We plan to apply the blockchain technology, one of the key technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, to the defense business service to innovate the public service." DAPA initially announced the plan to launch a blockchain pilot project back in April.