More than 300 teams took part in a contest for ideas on artificial intelligence (AI) and Blockchain services using mobile IDs, showing strong interest in services based on digital identity.
The Korea Digital Authentication Association said on the 30th that a total of 318 teams entered the preliminary round of the 2026 Blockchain AI Hackathon, which aims to discover creative service ideas based on Blockchain and AI. Held for the second year in a row, the event is co-organized by Raonsecure and Global Digital Innovation Network (GDIN), with support from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
This year's participation grew 50.7% from last year's 211 teams. The competition for 10 spots in the finals came to about 32-to-1.
The preliminary screening evaluated creativity, feasibility, and business potential. First, 25 teams were selected through a document review, and on the 25th and 26th, judges conducted in-person evaluations over two days to choose 10 teams as the final qualifiers.
At this hackathon, many ideas aimed to solve real-life problems using mobile IDs such as the mobile resident registration card and mobile driver's license.
In the AI field, a mobile ID–based platform for managing and safely sharing the provenance of AI works was proposed. As Generative AI spreads and the importance of verifying content sources and authenticity grows, the idea is to use mobile IDs to manage the creation, modification, and sharing history of AI works.
Trust-infrastructure approaches also appeared in ideas for using digital assets. Proposals included an on-chain wallet enabling real-name verification with a mobile ID and a security token offerings (STOs) platform that verifies investors and executes the transaction via smart contracts. There was also an idea for an AI digital tourism wallet in response to the rise in foreign visitors.
Practical, everyday ideas also stood out, including video authenticity certification, welfare delegation, and accessibility for people with disabilities. Representative proposals included a mobile ID–based official video authenticity certification platform, a service to delegate and manage applications and fulfillment for elderly welfare, and a nonvisual independent signing device using a mobile disability registration card.
Ideas that used Raonsecure's Blockchain digital ID platforms "OmniOne Open DID" or "OmniOne Chain," released as open source on GitHub, received bonus points. Through this, participating teams also examined how to implement mobile IDs and DID technology within actual service architectures.
Finalists will receive expert mentoring and undergo technical advancement before the final evaluation on Sept. 30. A total of five teams will be awarded: one grand prize, one first prize, and three excellence prizes, with the grand prize team receiving the Minister of the Interior and Safety's award. The total prize money is 30 million won.
Raonsecure plans to separately evaluate the winning teams with Axis Investment and the U.K. venture capital firm Simsan Ventures to offer startup support opportunities of up to 1 billion won. GDIN will support follow-up commercialization with global expansion, overseas investment attraction, and management consulting.
Yeom Heung-yeol, president of the Korea Digital Authentication Association, said, "As mobile IDs are becoming a digital trust infrastructure in people's daily lives, we hope this competition will discover practical ideas and serve as a springboard to broaden Korea's digital identity ecosystem by one step."