Online real-name policy to be kept

By Chung Min-uck

The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said Friday that it will uphold the online real-name registration policy, dismissing allegations that the policy made it easier for hackers to steal bloggers’ personal data.

The announcement from the KCC, the agency in charge of the policy, indicates that the Ministry of Public Administration and Security’s reported proposal to scrap the measure amid online privacy worries was rejected.

The ministry’s proposal came after approximately 35 million SK Communications service subscribers’ personal data, including residential registration numbers, were hacked late last month.

Yet the KCC insists that the hacking has nothing to do with the real-name policy and that the measure to fight cyber defamation remains effective.

“Companies obtaining and keeping their subscriber’s personal information is not associated with the real-name policy. IT companies collected bloggers’ personal data for the sake of their own business purposes and it has nothing to do with the real-name policy,” said Uhm yul, leader of KCC’s Internet Safety Team.

The policy requires bloggers to pass a verification process by entering their real name and their residential registration number.

The measure, executed under a law covering information and digital networks, was adopted in 2007 to foster a sense of responsibility among Internet users when commenting in chat rooms and message boards, as concerns over groundless online rumors and malicious attacks on individuals grew.

The KCC urges IT companies to dispose of subscribers’ personal information after identification is complete to prevent the leak of private information by hackers.

“The IT companies should scrap the personal information through their own policy like SK Communications,” Uhm said.

After the leakage was revealed, SK announced that they would get rid of their subscribers’ residential registration numbers after completing the identification process as a countermeasure.

Meanwhile, Rep. Lee Ju-young, chief policymaker of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP), denied reports that the public administration ministry and the ruling GNP are trying to scrap the real-name policy.