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김형중

고려대학교 암호화폐연구센터장

Head of Korea University's Cryptocurrency Research Center 

김 교수는 학계에서 ‘블록체인 전도사’로 꼽힐 만큼 왕성한 활동을 펼쳐왔다. 국내의 대표적 암호학 전문가로 일찌감치 블록체인과 암호화폐의 가능성에 주목, 그간 당국에 목소리를 내기도 했다.

그가 힘줘 말하는 것은 블록체인이 가져올 커다란 파생효과다. 탈중앙화, 무결성으로 대표되는 블록체인 자체의 논리만 반복할 경우 설득력이 떨어진다는 이유에서다.

“초창기 모토로라가 핸드폰을 내놓았어요. ‘벽돌 폰’이었죠. 그것 자체가 바이블처럼 신성시되는 게 바람직할까요? 거기에만 머물러 있었다면 스마트폰이나 SNS(소셜네트워크서비스)가 나올 수 없었겠죠. 결국 ‘이동하면서 전화할 수 있게 됐다’는 핵심만 가져오고, 여러 분야로 응용하면 되는 것이거든요. 비트코인도 마찬가지예요. 10년 전 세상에 나와 큰 충격을 줬어요. 분산원장 기반으로 이중 지불되지 않는 디지털 자산을 만들었다는 게 중요한 것이지, 비트코인의 모든 것을 그대로 고수해야 하는 건 아니라고 봅니다.”

블록체인의 폭넓은 활용도에 주목하자는 발상의 전환인 셈.

김 교수는 “4차 산업혁명은 구호로만 되는 게 아니다. DT가 반드시 필요한데, 지금은 진정한 의미의 DT가 어려운 실정”이라면서 “기업 생태계의 전후방 참여 업체들이 함께 DT를 해야 가능한 시스템이다. 대형 마트를 예로 들면 산지에서 마트로 식자재를 보내는 농부까지 DT에 참여해야 한다”고 설명했다. 블록체인 도입이 적극적 DT로의 전환 계기가 될 것이란 얘기다.

빅데이터 산업도 유사하다고 봤다. 그는 “빅데이터 산업이 잘 안 되는 것은 데이터가 없어서가 아니다. 데이터는 있는데 개인정보 관련 규제 등으로 공유를 않거나 영업기밀 노출을 꺼리는 탓에 빅데이터 산업이 지지부진한 것이다”라며 “사실상 위·변조가 불가능해 자유롭게 데이터를 공유할 수 있는 블록체인 적용이 그 해결책이 될 것”이라고 했다.

(한국경제 참조)


Professor Kim has been active enough to be considered a "blockchain evangelist" in academia. As a leading cryptography expert in Korea, he paid attention to the possibility of blockchain and cryptocurrency early on, and has spoken to the authorities.


What he says strongly is a big derivative effect that blockchain will bring. This is because if only the logic of the blockchain itself, represented by decentralization and integrity, is repeated, it will be less convincing.  


"In the early days, Motorola released a cell phone. It was "Brick phone." Would it be desirable for it to be as sacred as the Bible itself? If you had stayed there, you wouldn't have been able to come out with a smartphone or social network service (SNS). In the end, you only need to bring the core of "I can call while moving," and apply it to various fields. The same goes for Bitcoin. It shocked whole world 10 years ago. I think it's important that we created digital assets that are not double-paid based on distributed ledger, but we don't have to stick to everything about Bitcoin as it is."


It is a shift in the idea of paying attention to the wide use of blockchain.

Professor Kim said, "The Fourth Industrial Revolution is not only a slogan. DT is essential, but now DT in the true sense is difficult, he said. "It is a system that can only be used when front and rear participants of the corporate ecosystem perform DT together." He explained, "For example, farmers who send food materials from the production area to the mart should participate in DT." In other words, the introduction of blockchain will serve as an opportunity to actively switch to DT. 


I think the big data industry is similar. He said, "The big data industry is not doing well because there is no data. There is data, but the big data industry has been sluggish because it is not shared due to regulations related to personal information or is reluctant to expose trade secrets, he said. "The solution will be to apply a blockchain that can freely share data because it is virtually impossible to forge or modify."