Approval of Regulatory Sandbox for Identity Verification Using Naver and Kakao Driver's Licenses

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] In the future, multiple delivery-only restaurant operators will be able to rent kitchens and related facilities to have so-called ‘shared kitchens.’ Additionally, mobile driver’s licenses registered on Kakao and Naver applications will have the same validity as traditional driver’s licenses for identity verification.

On the 3rd, the Ministry of Science and ICT held the 11th New Technology and Service Deliberation Committee meeting in writing and reviewed a total of five regulatory sandbox projects, approving one demonstration exception, three temporary permits, and one change in designation conditions for a demonstration exception project.

First, the committee granted a demonstration exception to KitchenX’s application for a delivery-only shared kitchen service. Under the current Food Sanitation Act, it was impossible for multiple operators to share a single kitchen and related facilities. However, with this demonstration exception, multiple delivery-only food business operators can share a single kitchen facility.

This will allow delivery-only restaurant startups to utilize shared kitchen facilities at a low cost, reducing initial startup expenses and contributing to increased startup success rates through services such as menu development and promotion. The demonstration scope is limited to KitchenX’s Sinchon branch, but upon establishing additional branches and consulting with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, it can be expanded to up to 20 branches in the metropolitan area. However, a designated person responsible for separate hygiene management and compliance with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s ‘Shared Kitchen Operation Guidelines’ are required.

LG Uplus also received a temporary permit for its non-face-to-face mobile communication subscription service. Under the current Telecommunications Business Act, only certified electronic signatures, credit cards, and mobile phone text message authentication were allowed as identity verification methods for non-face-to-face subscriptions. With this temporary permit, until the revision of the enforcement decree, convenient non-face-to-face activation will be possible using multi-factor authentication technologies based on apps like PASS.

Kakao, KakaoBank, and Naver each applied for temporary permits for the ‘Mobile Driver’s License Verification Service,’ which allows individuals who have received a plastic driver’s license card to register their driver’s license through the KakaoTalk or Naver mobile app and use it with the same validity as the existing driver’s license.

The applicants plan to launch the service after establishing a system in consultation with the National Police Agency to prevent ① personal information leakage, ② forgery and alteration, and ③ administrative service disruptions related to licenses. The committee expects that “diversifying driver’s license verification services will expand consumer choice and additional personal identity verification services, contribute to crime prevention by preventing driver’s license loss, and reduce reissuance costs.”

Additionally, Hyundai Motor Company and KST Mobility applied to change the designation conditions of the demonstration exception to advance the start time of the ‘Demand-Responsive Community-Type Large Van Taxi’* operation to 6 a.m., one hour earlier, and to expand the demonstration service area radius to approximately 4 km (previously 2 km) only in Sejong City to improve service convenience.

The applied service was designated as a demonstration exception at the 7th Deliberation Committee meeting last November and started service in February this year in Eunpyeong-gu New Town. From February to May, service operation analysis showed 12,145 rides (132 rides per day on average) and 17,439 passengers (190 passengers per day on average), contributing to improving local transportation convenience, with user satisfaction also positive.

The committee expanded the service operation hours to improve convenience during commuting hours and expanded the service area radius within Sejong City. This is expected to contribute to expanding transportation options and improving convenience in demonstration areas with low public transportation accessibility.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that since the ICT regulatory sandbox system was implemented in January last year, a total of 202 projects have been submitted, with 159 processed. Among 67 designated projects for temporary permits (28) and demonstration exceptions (39), 36 new technologies and services have been launched so far, and the remaining 31 projects are preparing for rapid launch.

The Ministry plans to actively support related companies in utilizing the ICT regulatory sandbox system in areas such as data, networks, artificial intelligence (DNA) ecosystem strengthening, and non-face-to-face industries to ensure smooth progress of the Digital New Deal. Minister Choi Ki-young stated, "We will enhance accessibility for companies to use the ICT regulatory sandbox system and support active utilization to ensure that various new technologies and services discovered through the Digital New Deal are not delayed by regulations.”

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