S. Korea to mandate facial recognition for opening new mobile numbers

Seoul, Dec 19 South Korea will make it mandatory for people to undergo facial recognition when opening a new mobile phone number, as part of efforts to root out illegally registered handsets used for scams, the science ministry said on Friday.

Under the plan, South Korea will require the country's three mobile carriers, SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Inc., along with mobile virtual network operators, to carry out the additional verification step to prevent the activation of new numbers through identity theft, reports Yonhap news agency.

The announcement came after South Korea unveiled a set of comprehensive measures to fight voice phishing scams in August, including tougher punishment for mobile carriers that fail to carry out sufficient preventive efforts.

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The ministry noted scammers will face more hurdles in activating new phones using information obtained from hacking attacks.

The new policy will be officially implemented in March 2026, with a trial run set to begin next week.

The number of voice phishing scams reported came to 21,588 as of November this year, with the combined amount of damage reaching 1.13 trillion won (US$760 million), surpassing the 1 trillion-won mark for the first time, the ministry added, citing a report from the police agency.

Meanwhile, the government said Thursday it will form an interagency task force to handle the recent large-scale data breach at e-commerce giant Coupang Corp.

The decision was made at a meeting of science and technology–related ministers chaired by Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon, the government said.

Led by Ryu Je-myung, second vice minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, the task force will consist of officials from the science ministry and other organizations, including the Personal Information Protection Committee, the Korea Media Communications Commission and the Financial Services Commission.

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