ActiveX to be phased out in March

By Yoon Sung-won

Internet users will be able to pay on Korean websites more conveniently without having to go through complicated identification processes based on “ActiveX,” the government said Wednesday.

As credit card companies will become free to replace ActiveX technology with other security programs from March, Korea’s online shopping malls can provide a more convenient payment system that does not require tedious identification processes other than ID and passwords both for domestic and foreign online customers.

“Local credit card companies and online shopping malls will introduce a new payment system that does not require the ActiveX framework starting March,” a Financial Services Commission (FSC) official said Tuesday. “Consequently, online customers will no longer have to download ActiveX plug-ins to use e-commerce.”

ActiveX, a software framework technology developed by Microsoft, has been widely used for the company’s web browser Internet Explorer. It is used to support Internet users’ identification and certification for online payments and financial transactions.

Introduced in 1996, the ActiveX technology has been commonly used on government websites, financial institutions and online shopping malls in Korea, where Internet Explorer enjoys a dominant status among web browsers.

In overseas countries, the technology has already been replaced by global e-commerce companies such as Amazon, eBay and Alibaba, after being repeatedly pointed out as a major cause of system slowdowns, unwanted software updates and as a channel that spreads malicious codes.

On the contrary, it has prevailed among Korean websites, making it difficult for online customers, foreigners in particular, to purchase goods online.

The move comes after President Park Geun-hye’s remarks during her New Year speech, Monday, that, “As the consequence of settling for an outdated regulation like ActiveX, foreign customers’ direct online purchases on Korea’s online shopping websites has been compromised.

Park first urged the need for a more convenient online payment system that can replace ActiveX in March last year. She said at that time that many Chinese online customers, who were motivated to buy Korean apparel after watching the popular television series “My Love from the Star,” had difficulties using Korea’s online shopping malls.

The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the FSC have pushed ahead with their plan under cooperation with local card companies, online shopping mall operators and payment gateway businesses to remove the troublesome technology from local websites and to introduce more general Internet standards such as HTML5.

The government decision to permit a replacement for ActiveX is expected to facilitate credit card payments on domestic websites using various web browsers including Google Chrome and Apple Safari.

The financial authority originally planned to introduce a new ActiveX-free online payment system this month. But it said it had to postpone the implementation considering that local credit card companies need time to develop, test and apply new systems.

The FSC said online customers will be able to decide whether to use the new system or to use other security and certification programs. These programs need to be non-ActiveX technology to support all web browsers, it added.