Hopae joins govt digital ID wallet initiative as Korea targets global interoperability

Hopae has won major backing as it collaborates on a joint research institute with the South Korean government in building digital identity standards with an internationalist view.

The start-up will join a research project in the development of interoperability and global standards of digital identity wallets. The initiative is part of the “Information and Communication Broadcasting Standard Development Support Project” in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Institute of Information and Communications Technology Planning and Evaluation (IITP).

The main aim is to develop a standard framework to ensure interoperability between digital identity systems. This includes ensuring technical compatibility with global standards, setting out a standard technological framework for digital identity wallets, developing open source-based linkages and establishing industry-specific verification projects.

The project will last from April 2025 to December 2029. “The core of digital identity wallets is interoperability between systems and international compatibility,” said Hopae CEO and Co-founder Ace Jaehoon Shim. “We hope that this project will be an opportunity for Korea to leap forward as a global standardization leader in the field of digital identity technology.”

It’s a notable development in chasing open source solutions and interoperability. While neighboring Japan was known for advanced technology, analysts eventually noted that the country lagged the likes of the U.S. in software (and hardware) as the country failed to embrace platforms, but instead developed siloed, bespoke technology. Perhaps South Korea does not want to fall into the same trap.

Hopae and the participating organizations will develop a domestic standard framework while accounting for major global standards such as the European Union’s EUDI Wallet ARF and  ISO/IEC Mobile Driver’s License Standard (18013-5/7). International integration is very nascent, and a kind of holy grail for those who have long worked in the identity space, but so far there is limited interoperability between national systems.

Hopae’s business plan for its identity verification API hConnect is very much set on this. The South Korean company has launched a $1 million digital ID developer challenge to award coding solutions that integrate eIDs into one network. For hConnect to work on a global scale, however, as many eIDs as possible must be integrated into the unified verification network enabled by Hopae’s single API.

Hosted by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) and the Financial Security Institute, Hopae’s new collaboration will see promotion of practical applications in sectors including finance, travel and public services.

“Korea is a country with excellent e-government infrastructure in the world, and now is the time to lay the foundation for overseas expansion through contributions to global standards and the open source ecosystem,” said Jeon Jin-yeong, co-founder of Hopae.

Article Topics

digital ID  |  digital wallets  |  Hopae  |  research and development  |  South Korea