Digital driver's license to expand as verification method

The digital driver's license provided by the country’s three wireless carriers will extend its use as a self-verification method in fields such as the medical, financial and public sectors.

A model promotes the digital identity authentication app PASS, which received approval from the Ministry of Science and ICT to include smartphone users' full resident registration number on their digital driver's license. [SKT, KT, LG UPLUS]

The digital driver's license provided by the country’s three wireless carriers will extend its use as a self-verification method in fields such as the medical, financial and public sectors.

The carriers — KT, SK Telecom and LG Uplus — announced on Thursday that their identity authentication app PASS received the green light and was allowed to present a full resident registration number on its digital driver’s license.

Until now, the mobile driving license did not include the last seven digits of the resident registration number, making it difficult for users to prove their identity in medical, financial and public realms. The exact date for when the change will be made was not announced.

PASS allows smartphone users to use digital identification, such as driver’s licenses and resident registration cards, without the usage of plastic cards. Released in June 2020, the app is used by some 5.3 million people.

The PASS driver’s license can currently be utilized nationwide to verify age at convenience store chains, movie chains, and mobility sectors such as SK rent-a-car or electric kickboard rental service Deer.

The service can also be used for domestic flights and to check a person’s identity at telecom branches.

The three mobile carriers are also planning to implement facial recognition services within PASS by this year to make it easier for users to utilize the app at unmanned convenience stores and kiosks.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]