"Realizing a Trustworthy Society Without Fakes" Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation Accelerates Innovation in Anti-Counterfeiting and Tampering Technologies

Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation (KOMSCO) is accelerating innovation in identity card forgery and tampering prevention technology.

According to KOMSCO on the 9th, the number of domestic and foreign nationals who entered and exited Korea last year was approximately 68 million. This represents a 251% increase compared to about 19 million in 2022, and as more people cross the borders, interest in passport security technology has also increased.

The continuous attempts to forge and tamper with passports are a major factor that highlights the importance of passport security technology. For example, cases of forged or tampered Korean passports increased from 1,014 in 2021 to 2,003 in 2022, and 2,944 last year. However, no cases of forgery or tampering have been detected in the next-generation electronic passports with enhanced security.

Image of the next-generation electronic passport issued by Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation. Provided by Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation

KOMSCO is the only domestic institution that manufactures and issues passports, and has been issuing next-generation electronic passports since December 2011. These passports feature symbolic images and patterns representing Korea, designed with backgrounds of artifacts from the prehistoric to the Joseon Dynasty periods.

In particular, the personal information page contains the citizen’s identity information and is the most security-critical page in the passport. Considering this, KOMSCO changed the next-generation electronic passport material from paper to polycarbonate (PC), enhancing both durability and security. Above all, the highest level of security elements that are difficult to forge or tamper with have been designed and applied. This is why cases of forgery or tampering with next-generation electronic passports are rarely found.

KOMSCO also manufactures identity cards (registration cards) for foreigners. The foreigner registration card is an essential ID for foreigners holding a Korean visa who stay in Korea for more than 90 days, and it is manufactured and issued applying KOMSCO’s latest security technologies.

KOMSCO’s technological innovation to prevent forgery and tampering of passports and foreigner registration ID cards is ongoing. The core is to continue researching new security technologies to be applied to ID cards while strengthening cooperation with related organizations.

First, KOMSCO is focusing on developing digital-based security technologies necessary for manufacturing mobile ID cards and ID cards embedded with IC chips in line with digital transformation. Starting with the mobile government employee ID in 2020, followed by the mobile driver’s license in 2022, and last year’s introduction of the national veterans registration card, preparations are underway to issue mobile resident registration cards to citizens aged 17 and older next year.

Additionally, last month, KOMSCO held a seminar inviting officials from the Ministry of Justice’s Incheon Airport Immigration and Foreigners Office to share recent domestic and international trends in forgery and tampering of electronic passports and foreigner registration cards. At this event, KOMSCO and Ministry of Justice officials mutually shared cases and methods of forgery and tampering of foreigner registration cards used for illegal stay and employment activities in Korea.

Sung Chang-hoon, President of KOMSCO, said, “We will develop world-class forgery and tampering prevention technologies so that citizens can use electronic IDs conveniently and safely. Above all, KOMSCO’s ICT technology will help realize a society without fakes and create a trustworthy digital society that citizens can rely on.”

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