South Korea To Use Blockchain-Based Facial Recognition System To Combat COVID-19

Authorities in Bucheon, South Korea, will test a Blockchain-based facial recognition system to track the movement of people infected with the coronavirus. The project will be launched in January 2022, writes Reuters.

The nationally sponsored task in Bucheon, one of the country’s most densely populated cities on the outskirts of Seoul, according to the plan, the system will use artificial intelligence algorithms and facial recognition technology to analyze videos collected by more than 10,820 CCTV cameras. The program can also track the movements of an infected person, his contacts, and the use of a mask.

According to a Bucheon administration, the system will reduce the burden on tracking teams in a city of more than 800,000 people. The program can simultaneously track up to ten people and reduce the search time from one hour to 5-10 minutes.

“It sometimes takes hours to analyze a single CCTV footage. Using visual recognition technology will enable that analysis in an instant,” said Mayor Chan Deogcheon during the bidding process for funding the project.

The Ministry of Science and Information Technology said that the department currently has no plans to expand the system to the national level. The city received 1.6 billion won ($1.36 million) from the Ministry of Science and Information Technology for the deployment of the system. Also, the Bucheon government has allocated 500 million won ($422,000) from the local budget.

Some South Korean lawmakers are concerned that the government will retain and continue to use such data after the pandemic.

“The government’s plan to become a Big Brother on the pretext of COVID is a neo-totalitarian idea, It is absolutely wrong to monitor and control the public via CCTV using taxpayers’ money and without the consent from the public,” said Park Dae Chul, an opposition parliamentary deputy in the lower house of parliament.

The Bucheon administrators told that there are no privacy problems because the system puts a mosaic over the faces of anyone who is not a subject.

In October, the Ukrainian authorities announced their intention to use cameras with a mask recognition function in the largest shopping centers in the country.

In July, authorities in the Chinese city of Ruili linked facial recognition technology with citizens’ personal health codes to combat the spread of coronavirus infection.