Samsung SDS, the IT subsidiary of the electronics giant, has won a prestigious contract from the metropolitan government of Seoul, South Korea’s capital.

The contract is to draw up a roadmap for the application of distributed ledger technology could be leveraged for administrative use. The city’s government has set its sights on blockchain for municipal duties that actively use and store citizen’s private information.

The news, broken by Korea Herald, states that the contract also encompasses public safety and transport, and is aiming for a rollout across the capital by 2022.

CoinDesk quotes Samsung SDS CEO Hong Won-pyo as saying:

“Samsung SDS’ blockchain technology and consulting capabilities will contribute to Seoul’s leap as a top-rate global city.”

High profile

The contract is a big win for Samsung and comes half a year after the Korean company launched its cloud-hosted enterprise blockchain, Nexledger. This project represents the first time that the company will introduce the technology to the public sector, and the first time any domestic company in South Korea has done so.

In May, the company began a pilot project for Korea’s shipping and logistics industry to track imports, exports and real-time cargo tracking using a blockchain.

A contract of this magnitude being issued by a major city is an extremely high-profile endorsement of blockchain technology. If the project stays on schedule, it should be completed two years after Dubai becomes the world’s first blockchain city in 2020.

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