Seoul Mayor Rolls out $88.62M Blockchain Fund

The mayor of South Korea’s capital Seoul is embarking on an ambitious plan to promote blockchain technology with a multi-million dollar (multi-billion won) fund and business complex to develop talent in the sector, various media reported.

Speaking in Zug, Switzerland on Thursday, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon rolled out his five-year plan to encourage blockchain-use in the city among industries, including the establishment of businesses complexes and an $88.62 million blockchain fund (100 billion won). The mayor is on an 11-day trip to Estonia, Spain, and Switzerland that will end on Sunday.

"There's no doubt blockchain is the core technology of the fourth industrial revolution, which will shape the future IT industry. I will make efforts to help Seoul become the center of a blockchain industry ecosystem," the state's media service Yonhap quoted Park.

The blockchain house is expected to host nearly 250 blockchain-enabled venture companies, including cryptocurrency developer Ethereum Foundation.

At the same time, Park said the city government is allocating nearly $53.43 million (60.3 billion won) until 2021 to build two business complexes in the southwestern and western and districts to host at least 200 blockchain-related firms. The buildings will operate two training centers to train and develop at least 730 blockchain experts within five years of operation.

In a separate report, ZDNet said the complex would be located in the districts of Gaepo and Mapo in Seoul, with Gaepo occupying 600 square meters, while the Mapo complex will have 2,325 square meters of office space by 2019. However, the Gaepo site is expected to expand by 13,000 square meters by 2021, with the Seoul Global Block Center hosting 120 companies.

In addition, the city of Seoul has entered into a deal with Ground X, the blockchain subsidiary of chat giant Kakao, to co-develop blockchain initiatives with public sector applications. The city is also collaborating with Samsung SDS to seek blockchain innovations further.

Despite stringent rules, South Korean government offices are receptive to the blockchain. Last month, the country’s postal service, the Korea Post, initiated talks with Goldman Sachs on the use of cryptocurrencies. The Korea Post is under the authority of the Ministry of Science and ICT.