The Decentralized Identity (DID) Alliance Korea is planning a proof-of-concept (PoC) to develop a minimum viable product by the end of July, a BCN Media report said. The trial will see the Alliance explore “a trust framework between DID networks”, “commercialize COVID-19 immunity passports”, and verify certificates across networks.
The DID Alliance is collaborating with its members as well as other domestic and foreign organizations for this trial. Korean companies in the PoC include NH Nonghyup Bank and KB Kookmin Bank. International firms include Bank of America, CVS, Aetna, Jumio, and MobileIron. Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute (KFTC), which is a member of the Alliance, will also participate in the PoC.
Although Korean companies dominate the DID Alliance membership, it has quite a few international members, including NEC and Fujitsu from Japan and CVS from the United States.
In February this year, the DID Alliance launched a testnet of the OmniOne Network for identity, which was founded by Raon Secure. It expects to roll out the mainnet in the coming months.
The Alliance does not use W3C standards for decentralized identity. Instead, it is developing the Global Standard for Digital Identity (GADI), which will be tested during the PoC for compatibility with other networks.
The stated goal of the Alliance is to develop a global digital identity network using GADI standards and enable interoperability between identity systems.
South Korea has a handful of decentralized identity projects. The KFTC has launched a blockchain-based digital IDs for financial services using W3C standards.
NH Bank is a member of another digital identity initiative called Initial DID Association, and is using blockchain for ‘Mobile Employee ID’. Members of the Association include SK Telecom, LG Uplus, KT Corp, Hyundai Card, BC Card, Shinhan Bank, Samsung Electronics, KEB Hana Bank, Woori Bank, CJ Olive Networks and Koscom.
Korean startup ICONLOOP is also exploring blockchain for digital identity has launched the ‘my-ID’ service.
Separately, LG CNS, which is a member of the DID Alliance, has launched a decentralized identity project for autonomous cars in Sejong city. The company recently partnered with Evernym, the organization behind the Sovrin self-sovereign identity network.
