From September, Certificate of Seal Impression Will Be Issued 'Online'

Approval of the Seal Certificate Act Amendment at the Cabinet Meeting

From September 30, general-purpose seal certificates that are not intended for submission to courts or financial institutions can be easily issued online for free.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that the partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Seal Certificate Act, which allows seal certificates that had only been available through in-person issuance for 110 years since the system was introduced in 1914 to be issued via the electronic civil service portal (Government24), was approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 30th.

Previously, the government announced at a public discussion forum themed "Providing Convenient One-Stop Administrative Services for Citizens" that general-purpose seal certificates, except those closely related to property rights, would be available online. Until now, to obtain a seal certificate, one had to visit the local community service center in person regardless of the purpose.

Seal certificates are used as a means to verify a person's intent in public and private transactions. The individual registers their seal at the local community service center in advance, and when necessary, the seal certificate is issued to prove that the seal is the one registered by the person. Last year, 29.84 million seal certificates were issued, with 4.5% for real estate sales, 6.1% for vehicle sales, and 89.4% for general purposes. Among general-purpose seal certificates, those not intended for submission to courts or financial institutions include administrative submissions for license applications, subsidy project applications, and career verification.

With this amendment to the enforcement decree, general-purpose seal certificates issued for purposes such as license applications, career verification, and subsidy project applications can be issued through Government24. It is estimated that about 5 million certificates, approximately 20% of general-purpose seal certificates, will be eligible for online issuance.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to provide the seal certificate issuance service on Government24 starting September 30, after developing the online issuance system for about five months. Only the individual can apply for seal certificate issuance through the electronic civil service portal. After accessing Government24 and completing multi-factor authentication such as electronic signature and mobile phone verification, the applicant fills out the purpose and submission destination, completing the issuance process. The issuance is notified to the individual via text message or other means.

A forgery verification system will also be introduced for online seal certificate issuance. By entering the 16-digit document verification number located at the top of the seal certificate on the Government24 website or app, authenticity can be confirmed. Additionally, a three-part split barcode will be introduced so that authenticity can be verified by scanning the barcode with the Government24 app or a document verification program for scanners.

Minister of the Interior and Safety, Sang-min Lee, stated, "The core of the Digital Platform Government is to provide public services in the way citizens want. Being able to issue seal certificates online for the first time in 110 years will save valuable time and costs for the public. We will continue to strive to make public services more convenient for everyone."

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