Era of mobile ID card starts in Korea

A standing signboard promoting the issuance of mobile ID cards is installed at a community service center in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on March 13. Yonhap News

A mobile national identification card, a legal ID card stored on a smartphone, will be issued to all Korean people. It can be used at public institutions, banks, convenience stores, and anywhere else where a physical ID card is required.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Presidential Committee of Digital Platform Government said on March 13 that the nationwide issuance of mobile ID cards will begin on the 14th. People can apply for a mobile ID card at the community service center of their registered address, and from the 28th, they can apply for it at any community service center regardless of their address, as well as online (GOV.KR). This means that Seoul citizens can also get a mobile ID card in Jeju Island.

The mobile ID card has the same legal effect as a physical ID card under the Resident Registration Act. Mobile ID cards can be used in government offices, banks, airports, hospitals, convenience stores, elections, and anywhere else where physical ID cards are used.

For security purposes, a mobile ID card can only be issued to one smartphone device in a person’s name. If a smartphone is lost, the mobile ID card issued to it will be locked and immediately disabled through the smartphone loss report.

There are two ways to get a mobile ID card: “IC ID card” and “QR scan.” To get a mobile ID using an IC ID card, a citizen must apply for an IC ID card through his or her community service center or online, which takes about two weeks to be issued. If an IC ID card comes out, a mobile ID card will be finally issued after downloading and installing the "Korea Mobile ID Card" application and going through the authentication process.

If there is no time to wait for an IC ID card, a citizen can choose a way using QR scan. After installing the Korea Mobile ID Card app, he or she can get a mobile ID card at a community service center after scanning a QR code shown by a staff member and going through a facial authentication process.

A mobile ID card is also equipped with various security technologies such as blockchain and encryption, so it can be used with confidence, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. It said, “The issuance process includes visiting a community service center, identity verification, biometric authentication, and contact with an IC ID card (a physical ID card with an embedded IC chip) on a smartphone to ensure high reliability.”

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.