South Korea plans to invest over $380M for blockchain research and development

South Korea’s ministry of science and technology has plans to invest 450 billion won (~$382 million) for blockchain research and development.

The agency would invest the amount over a period of six years from 2021 to 2026, ZDNet Korea reported Thursday.

Citing anonymous government officials, the report further said that the goal of the initiative is to create a foundation of data economy powered by blockchain technology.

"The data trust problem must be solved in order for the data economy to become active. A blockchain can create a trust base for data sharing," a government official familiar with the plan, was quoted as saying in the report.

The ministry is said to research various blockchain areas, including smart contract reliability, interoperability among blockchains, scalability and consensus algorithms.

South Korea has announced several blockchain initiatives in the past. Most recently, the Korea Internet Security Agency said it will support blockchain-related projects in 2020 with 10.5 billion won (~$9 million) in funding.