LH Leverages Blockchain to Certify Legally Important Documents
The Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) is set to build a certification platform to replace paper documents as the sole form of legal certification. The initiative aims to bring the credibility of traditional methods like contents-certified mail to electronic documents by leveraging blockchain technology.
Contents-certified mail — transitioning from postal to digital
Contents-certified mail refers to a specific type of mail service provided by the post office, which offers special guarantees regarding the delivery and content of a document. When a document is sent using contents-certified mail, the post office provides certain assurances that can be beneficial in legal and official contexts.
Amidst the rise in demand for digital administrative services due to increased remote technologies in the post-COVID-19 era, the ongoing expansion of Web3, and enhanced customized administration, there has also been a growing need for the digitization of documents related to compensation for land and buildings.
According to industry sources, LH plans to automate document transmission and management functions through the platform, establishing a digital environment for generating, sending, receiving, viewing, and storing electronic documents.
Factoring in blockchain tech
A key feature of the proof platform is its integrated blockchain technology. “Utilizing blockchain allows accurate documentation of LH as the sender, as well as the timestamps of delivery and reception. This will subsequently enhance transparency and security,” LH said.
Going paperless
By establishing the digital platform, LH will be able to introduce a more convenient method of sending legally significant documents, essentially replacing the manual method of sending them through postal services. This could include sending them via platforms used nationwide like Naver or KakaoTalk or through text messages sent by the country’s major telecommunication companies.
This innovation can contribute to the proliferation of paperless methods, addressing the expected increase in postal delivery failures tied to the rise of single-person households.
“By constructing this platform, we can better protect user rights and provide administrative services that transcend the temporal and spatial constraints of registered mail,” LH said. “We will broaden our legal, institutional, and technical discussions to innovate processes for verifying the validity of electronic documents.”
The project is currently in operation in certain areas related to compensation. According to LH, the plan is to expand the project’s scope to encompass all areas of compensation by next year and then to other areas such as the management and sale of rental apartments.
The corporation said that it posted a bidding notice last Wednesday to hire a company that can build the blockchain-powered platform that certifies legally important documents. LH is currently undergoing a selection process.
Employing smart contracts
LH also mentioned that it is preparing a smart contract system. The system programs the terms agreed upon by involved parties in advance, embeds them in an electronic contract, and enables automatic execution of the terms of the contract when all conditions are met.
