South Korea maintains its commitment to the blockchain industry.
According to CoinGeek, South Korea has announced a KRW3.9 billion ($3.09 million) blockchain grant to be administered by the Ministry of Science and ICT.
The project, dubbed the ‘Blockchain Technology Validation Support in 2020,’ will be done with the help of the National Institute of Information and Communication Industry Promotion (NIPA) and will see the two support up to nine blockchain companies.
The companies will be chosen based on criteria such as potential job creation, expected national impact, and the feasibility of its current performance. Special consideration will be given to firms integrating technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT), with small and medium-sized startups being the main focus of the grant.
Chosen companies will receive KRW450 million won ($356,000), each, and the application period ends on November 30.
This is not the first time the South Korean government has issued a grant to blockchain companies. Last year, the government picked 11 companies to support. This group went on to file 5 patent applications, register 9 copyrights and have two investment rounds.
Photo: Republic of Korea