Blockchain-based contactless eligibility verification arrives on Seoul's Public Service Reservation site.
Today, March 15, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it is applying blockchain-based "contactless eligibility verification" to its Public Service Reservation website (https://yeyak.seoul.go.kr/web/main.do).
The verification runs on Seoul's standard blockchain platform, which is built on loopchain — the blockchain core engine developed by ICONLOOP. Verify your identity once on the website and you can submit all nine types of supporting documents digitally, instead of handing them over in person the way you had to before. Because identity verification and electronic signing both happen on the blockchain, protection against forgery and tampering is stronger, and so is the protection of your personal data.
Blockchain technology keeps seeping into everyday life, one use case at a time, making the world we live in more convenient and more trustworthy. ICONLOOP will keep innovating on daily life through blockchain technology.
Life Meets Blockchain
Original article (source): https://www.asiae.co.kr/article/2021031218371504949
Seoul Overhauls Its 7,000-Service 'Public Service Reservation' Platform — With Contactless Fee Reductions
[Asia Economy, reporter Cheolyoung Lim] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is overhauling and significantly expanding its "Public Service Reservation" website and reservation services. The Public Service Reservation website is an integrated platform for booking and paying online for public services offered by the city, its affiliated agencies, and its 25 district offices.
According to the city on the 15th, a public service reservation function will be added to "Seoul Talk," the AI counselor chatbot on KakaoTalk. Just type what you want into the chat window and you can book any of roughly 7,000 public services run by the city — from sports facilities and rentable venues to culture and education programs and treatment at municipal hospitals.
The renewed public service reservation system centers on three things: ▲ launching reservations and consultations through the KakaoTalk chatbot "Seoul Talk" ▲ redesigning the website for smartphones ▲ introducing blockchain-based contactless verification for fee-reduction eligibility.
The "Seoul Talk" reservation service was created so that anyone with KakaoTalk can book a public service, even without an account on the Public Service Reservation website. Since KakaoTalk is a platform used by a large share of smartphone users in Korea, the booking process is expected to get dramatically simpler. Chatbot reservations in particular verify you through the mobile number registered with KakaoTalk, so after a single first-time authentication you can book straight away with no further verification.
The website is being redesigned for smartphones as well, reflecting the growth in mobile bookings, and procedures such as login and payment are being simplified. Personalized menus — location-based services, interest settings and the like — are being added in large numbers. New communication support for older adults and people with disabilities is also included, such as a shortcut to the Sonmal Ieum Center, the relay service that mediates communication by text and video.
Contactless eligibility verification based on blockchain technology is being introduced too. Today, people such as basic living security recipients, people with disabilities and persons of national merit are entitled to reduced fees at public facilities, but they have to obtain the relevant supporting documents and submit them when they use the service — an inconvenience.
With "contactless eligibility verification," anyone eligible for a fee reduction at a public facility can verify their identity on the website and submit all nine types of supporting documents digitally instead of on paper. Because identity verification and electronic signing are handled with blockchain technology that makes data forgery and tampering fundamentally impossible, personal data protection is strengthened as well.
Wonmok Lee, Seoul's Smart City Policy Officer, said: "We are facing both the enormous shift in the industrial ecosystem known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the changes COVID-19 has brought to citizens' daily lives. We will keep improving our services by applying the latest smart technologies where they fit, so that citizens can conveniently book and use the many facilities and the education and culture services the city provides, right from their smartphones. We will also continue to expand the facilities and cultural content available."