Next Year’s 'Mobile Jumin Deungnokjeung' Available Free at Jumin Center

Identity Verification Possible Both Online and Offline
Considering Safety and Privacy Protection Areas

Starting as early as the second half of next year, a 'mobile resident registration card' that stores and uses information on smartphones will be introduced.

Mobile Resident Registration Card Screen Example [Photo by Ministry of the Interior and Safety]

On the 20th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that a partial amendment to the Resident Registration Act, which provides the basis for issuing mobile resident registration cards, was approved at the Cabinet meeting.

If the amendment passes the National Assembly, it is expected that after a one-year preparation period, mobile resident registration cards will be available for issuance as early as the second half of next year.

The mobile resident registration card is the fourth mobile ID following ▲government employee ID ▲driver's license ▲national veterans registration card, and holds the same validity as a physical resident registration card.

Since last year, the three major telecommunications companies (SK Telecom, KT, LG U+) have been operating the 'Resident Registration Card Mobile Verification Service' through the PASS application, but the newly introduced 'mobile resident registration card' will have a wider scope of use than before.

Unlike PASS, which could only be used offline for age verification at convenience stores or movie theaters, or identity verification at airports and passenger terminals, the mobile resident registration card can also be used as a means of identity verification online.

It will also be possible to verify identity with the mobile resident registration card when opening a bank account or issuing documents at government offices.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has ensured the security of the mobile resident registration card by allowing issuance information to be stored on only one device per person and designing it so that it cannot be accessed without the data subject’s permission, such as biometric authentication.

In addition, to prepare for smartphone loss, usage will be immediately suspended upon loss reporting to prevent theft and misuse.

Users can select and provide only necessary information according to their judgment, such as providing only the date of birth or masking the resident registration number when verifying the address, which is expected to alleviate privacy concerns.

In the future, citizens aged 17 and older who have been issued a resident registration card will be able to visit a nearby community service center to receive a mobile resident registration card free of charge.

Vice Minister Han Chang-seop stated, "With the introduction of the mobile resident registration card, life is expected to become more convenient through simple identity verification both online and offline," and added, "We will prepare with special care so that the public can use it with confidence."

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