Mobile phone activation rules tighten Monday with facial recognition option
A person walks by SK Telecom's retail store in central Seoul. Korea Times photo by Park Si-mon
The government will require stricter identity verification for new mobile subscriptions starting Monday, including facial recognition or digital ID authentication, as part of a broader effort to combat identity theft, illegal phone registrations and voice phishing.
Under the new procedures, users signing up for a new line or switching carriers must verify their identity using facial recognition, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's mobile ID app or a certified copy of their resident registration record issued on the same day.
For users who either fail facial recognition or do not wish to use biometric authentication, carriers can use nonfacial recognition alternative methods to approve and proceed with conditional activation.
The new rules will apply across all channels, including carrier stores, third-party retailers and online platforms, covering both major telecom operators and mobile virtual network operators.
The strengthened verification does not apply to customers upgrading devices with the same carrier.
The measures aim to prevent fraudulent mobile activations using stolen identities, which have been used to create burner phones for financial fraud and voice phishing schemes.
The Ministry of Science and ICT has been piloting the system since late last year before expanding it nationwide.
Facial recognition was initially planned as a mandatory step, but authorities revised the policy to offer alternative verification methods following concerns from the Personal Information Protection Commission and the National Human Rights Commission over the sensitivity of biometric data.
Users who opt for facial recognition will have a live image compared with the photo on their government-issued ID to verify their identity.
The ministry said no original facial images will be stored with biometric data used only for matching and then immediately discarded. It added that security testing conducted by the Korea Internet & Security Agency found no major vulnerabilities.
The ministry plans to clarify the legal basis for facial recognition through regulatory amendments by October, further strengthening identity verification procedures and completing the phased rollout of the facial recognition system.
The government will also strengthen identity verification for foreign nationals, planning to gradually upgrade the verification system for foreign identification cards in the second half of this year and tighten mobile subscription requirements under a one‑person‑one‑line principle.