Seoul Public Wi-Fi 'Kkachion' Unified Under a Single Identifier

Starting Next Year, Automatic Connection After First Secure Login Only

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Seoul City announced on the 29th that the identifiers (SSID) of 12,808 public Wi-Fi units, which have been individually operated by Seoul City, 25 autonomous districts, and affiliated organizations, will be unified into one starting January 1st next year. Secure connections will be unified as 'SEOUL_Secure', and open general connections as 'SEOUL'.

If the Wi-Fi SSIDs are different, users must find and reconnect to the SSID of the new area whenever they move locations. Since 2011, to reduce citizens' data charges and guarantee access to information, the city has opened mobile carriers' Wi-Fi for free mainly in densely populated areas or installed public Wi-Fi individually through various institutions. As a result, more than 50 public Wi-Fi SSIDs have proliferated throughout Seoul.

From now on, once connected to the secure connection SEOUL_Secure for the first time, users will be automatically connected at all locations where Seoul City public Wi-Fi is installed. After selecting SEOUL_Secure Wi-Fi, users need to enter the ID 'seoul' and password 'seoul'. For general connections, users must manually press the connect button each time.

In particular, when connected via the secure connection SEOUL_Secure, transmitted data is encrypted, and the latest Wi-Fi 6 WPA3 security technology is applied, making it much safer. However, the city requested, "Although enhanced security technology is applied to secure connections, due to the nature of public Wi-Fi accessible by anyone, please minimize entering sensitive personal information or conducting financial transactions."

The SSIDs of public Wi-Fi in public transportation, such as city buses and bus stops, which are the most frequently used places by citizens, will also be unified. SEOUL_Secure will be applied to 1,399 newly installed city bus public Wi-Fi units and 1,259 bus stop public Wi-Fi units currently under construction. Additionally, 6,000 existing city bus public Wi-Fi units will have Seoul City SSID added in consultation with the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Lee Won-mok, Seoul City Smart City Policy Officer, said, "Until now, the proliferation of over 50 SSIDs has resulted in low convenience and satisfaction for citizens compared to the number of public Wi-Fi installations," and added, "We expect that unifying public Wi-Fi SSIDs in Seoul will enhance convenience and security, contributing to increased citizen satisfaction and usage rates."

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