Three Years Since Resident Registration Number Change Implemented, Over 1,500 Citizens Received New Numbers

A Total of 15 Victims of Digital Sex Crimes Including Phone Number Changes

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] It has been revealed that over 1,500 of our citizens have been issued new resident registration numbers within three years since the introduction of the 'Resident Registration Number Change System.'

The Resident Registration Number Change Committee under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 28th that, since May 30, 2017, it has held a total of 71 regular meetings and completed the review and resolution of 2,088 cases out of 2,405 applications for resident registration number changes.

At the 71st regular meeting held on May 26, the 1,500th decision to change a resident registration number was made for a victim of domestic violence.

Among them, 15 citizens (0.9%) who were victims of digital sex crimes, including the highly publicized 'Telegram n-bang,' were also included as eligible for resident registration number change support. Additionally, two family members (the victim’s parents) listed on the resident registration certificate, whose information was leaked due to digital sex crime victim data exposure, were recognized broadly as part of proactive administration and had their resident registration numbers changed due to concerns about further harm.

Looking at the status of resident registration number changes by type of victimization, voice phishing accounted for the largest number with 550 cases (36.6%), followed by identity theft with 327 cases (21.8%), domestic violence with 319 cases (21.2%), injury/threat with 170 cases (11.3%), sexual violence with 60 cases (4.0%), and others with 77 cases (5.1%).

By region, among metropolitan local governments, Gyeonggi had the highest number with 357 cases (23.8%), followed by Seoul with 351 cases (23.4%), making the Seoul metropolitan area the most frequent. Sejong had the fewest changes with 15 cases (1.0%).

By gender, women accounted for the majority with 1,023 cases (68.1%), while men accounted for 480 cases (31.9%). The main victimization cases among women were voice phishing with 340 cases (33.2%), domestic violence with 271 cases (26.5%), identity theft with 158 cases (15.4%), injury/threat such as dating violence with 146 cases (14.3%), sexual violence with 60 cases (5.9%), and others with 48 cases (4.7%).

The resident registration number change system was introduced half a century after the issuance of resident registration numbers began in Korea in 1968. It allows individuals who have suffered or are at risk of suffering harm due to the leakage of their resident registration number to change the last six digits of their number after review and resolution by the committee.

Hong Jun-hyung, chairman of the Resident Registration Number Change Committee, stated, "In the post-COVID-19 era, with minimized physical contact and the spread of untact culture, the possibility of resident registration number leakage is expected to increase," adding, "Those who have suffered damage due to the leakage of their resident registration number should feel free to approach the committee at any time to block the chain that leads to secondary damage caused by the misuse of the leaked number."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.