Professor Park Sung-joon, head of the Blockchain Research Center at Seoul’s Dongguk University, Wednesday urged the government and the National Assembly to legislate bills on blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
In a lecture to 100 judges at the headquarters of the Seoul courts, he said the speed of blockchain is getting slower as the blockchain is a global network. All computers need a consensus of cooperation and coordination if the blockchain is to work as a global network, he said.
He likened the blockchain to a speed skating team pursuit involving two teams racing against one another on a 400-meter course. Teams start on opposite sites of the oval. All three members must cross the finish line before all three skaters on the other side.
The professor said blockchain needs the technology rather than speed to make it run smoothly. It requires the teamwork of global users, not the speed of individual users.
He said it took a long time for Korea to start Internet banking after the e-banking law debuted. In the same way, the new blockchain technology will be of great use in our daily lives only after the judiciary, and the legislature makes a strategic agreement on legislation.
In July 1999, South Korea introduced the e-banking law, but Internet banking started in 2007.
It was professor Park’s 673rd lecture on the blockchain, and he wants government officials to pool their efforts to make Korea a global blockchain superpower.
In 2016, Park opened the nation’s first blockchain think tank at the Dongguk University. He created a master’s degree course at the university to foster blockchain experts. He got a doctoral degree from his research into David Chaum, one of the forefathers of cryptocurrency.
Park believes that the South Korean government’s ban on ICOs is wrong. He recalled the time when the Internet came into being. Back then, Korea succeeded in becoming an Internet infrastructure powerhouse on the back of strong promotion policies, but Korea could not become an Internet industry powerhouse.
Although Korea built up IT infrastructure successfully, Korea failed to foster workforce and innovating industries, he said. He views that the government believes the blockchain is the core technology in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but it did little to promote blockchain.
The professor welcomes Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong’s move to make the island as a special zone for blockchain and cryptocurrency.
