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KR — ZDNet Korea

Consented Faces Turned into Digital Models for Shopping Malls

AI2 min read

A Korean AI and blockchain hackathon, run by the security firm Raon Secure, gave an award to a team that built FaceMarket. The service lets real people license their faces as digital models for online shops and get paid when those models are used.

The hackathon and the winning team

Raon Secure ran the 2026 Blockchain & AI Hackathon, which ended in late September. The event asks teams to combine AI and Web3 (a version of the internet built on blockchain) with mobile ID cards. Team DailyMoment won an excellence award. Their idea, FaceMarket, turns a real person's face into a digital model that clothing shops can use, and that person is paid for each use.

Key facts

  • 318 teams joined this year, about 51% more than last year's 211 teams.
  • About 32 teams competed for each of the 10 final spots, a rate of roughly 32 to 1.
  • The 10 finalists were picked through a paper review and in-person judging.
  • The event was held for the second time this year.

How FaceMarket works

The team said AI models often look less natural than real people. So they built a system where a person agrees to let their face be used. The service records the owner's consent, what the face can be used for, and every use and payment. Shops and model owners can then both trust the system. The team plans to link FaceMarket to their clothing product-page tool, Wearless, so shop owners can pick a model and use the images on product pages.

Why it matters

Using someone's face without permission is a serious problem. This idea tries to solve it by putting consent, usage rights, and payment into the system from the start. The team also said that a service that works is not the same as a service people really need. They also noted that a service like this needs careful checks on law, security, and daily operations before it can launch.

What to watch

  • Whether the Wearless launch is finished and FaceMarket is connected to it.
  • Whether shop owners actually want to pay for licensed digital faces.
  • Whether the team gets real customer tests or business partners.
  • How legal and security experts shape the rules for using a person's identity.

Glossary

Raon Secure
A company that makes AI security and identity verification platforms.
Web3
A version of the internet built on blockchain, where users may own and control their data and digital items.
Blockchain
A shared digital record kept across many computers, which is hard to change once data is added.
Hackathon
A short contest where teams build a working product or idea in a limited time.
FaceMarket
The team's service that licenses real people's faces as digital models and pays them when used.
Wearless
A tool that helps clothing shops create the detail pages for their products.

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