Introducing Private Electronic Signatures: Kakao and PASS Authentication Now Available on Government24 and Hometax

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] Starting from the 13th, private electronic signatures such as Kakao and PASS will be available for use on public websites.

The government announced on the 11th that from the 13th, two days before the year-end tax settlement simplification service, private electronic signatures can be used alongside the joint certificate (formerly the public certificate) in the Government24 'Year-end Tax Settlement Resident Registration Copy Issuance Service.' From the 29th, this will also be applied to the People’s Petition 'Civil Complaint and Proposal Application Service.'

This follows the amendment to the Electronic Signature Act, which came into effect on December 10 last year, abolishing the public certificate system and granting equal legal effect to various private electronic signatures.

Unlike the existing public certificate, private electronic signatures do not require annual renewal and have simpler issuance and authentication procedures. To use private electronic signatures, also known as 'simple authentication,' in addition to the existing joint certificate, users must first obtain a certificate through the mobile app of a pilot project operator.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety will apply private electronic signatures to the year-end tax settlement resident registration copy issuance service starting on the 13th and plans to fully implement it across all Government24 services by the end of March. The National Tax Service will also open and operate the 'Year-end Tax Settlement Simplification Service' applying private electronic signatures on the Hometax (www.hometax.go.kr) website starting on the 15th. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee) plans to provide a 'simple authentication login service' from the 29th on the online public participation portal 'People’s Petition (www.epeople.go.kr)' operated by the commission to make it more convenient for citizens to use.

The Ministry of Science and ICT is operating an electronic signature evaluation and recognition system that verifies the safety, reliability, and security of electronic signature certifications to help citizens choose from various electronic signatures. Electronic signature certification providers are evaluated by assessment agencies on compliance with electronic signature operation standards and can receive approval from the recognition agency (Korea Internet & Security Agency) to be issued a 'Certificate of Compliance with Electronic Signature Operation Standards.'

The government stated, "Even after this pilot project, we will gradually expand the scope of the project so that citizens can use various private electronic signatures on more public websites," adding, "We plan to create an environment for the use of private electronic signatures throughout the public sector by additionally accepting electronic signature certification providers who have received 'Certificate of Compliance with Electronic Signature Operation Standards.'"

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