Facial Recognition to Block Black Market Phones Causes Confusion on First Day... Foreigners Remain an Unresolved Issue

Mandatory Multi-Factor Identity Verification for New Activations
Confusion in the Field... Authentication Gap for Foreigners Remains
"Concerns Over Accuracy of Facial Recognition Must Also Be Addressed"

"Facial recognition? Hasn't the system not started yet?"

On July 6, at a mobile phone store in Sindorim Technomart, Guro-gu, Seoul. Although it was the first day that strengthened identity verification measures, including facial recognition, were implemented to prevent illegal 'burner phones,' a salesperson in his 40s, Mr. Hwang, looked puzzled and responded with a question when asked about facial recognition. There were no notices about facial recognition anywhere in the store. Mr. Hwang said, "We haven't received any official document or explanation from the telecom companies or relevant authorities yet."

The response from consumers was also lukewarm. Lee Haeram, an office worker in her 20s preparing to change her phone, said, "I understand the purpose of crime prevention, but it's burdensome to provide biometric information like my face." She added, "I also haven't received sufficient explanation on how the information will be managed." Another salesperson in his 40s, Mr. Kim, sighed, saying, "If we tell customers they have to use facial recognition, they will hesitate," and "I have no idea how to explain this right now."

On the afternoon of the 6th, when multi-factor identity verification systems such as facial recognition were implemented for new mobile phone activations, Sindorim Technomart in Guro-gu, Seoul. No related notices or explanations were displayed in any of the various stores. Photo by Jiyé Lee

Although the government mandated facial recognition to block illegal mobile phone activations and the distribution of burner phones, the system was not functioning properly from the outset. Furthermore, there is criticism that the policy's effectiveness is diminished because foreigners, who account for a significant proportion of the burner phone holders caught by investigative agencies, are excluded from the new system.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on July 8, starting from July 6, all face-to-face and non-face-to-face activation channels of the three major mobile carriers and MVNO operators are now required to implement multi-factor identity verification processes. Users who wish to register a new phone or transfer their number must verify their identity with their ID as well as through additional authentication, such as facial recognition.

The government has provided a grace period for phased implementation until September. During this period, even if facial recognition fails, users can exceptionally activate their phones as long as there is a record of the attempt. However, the problem is that at the actual stores, the necessity of facial recognition is not being properly communicated. Starting in October, anyone who fails facial recognition will need to present a mobile ID issued by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety or a resident registration transcript issued that day to activate a mobile phone.

Questions remain about the effectiveness of the system. Although foreign nationals’ names are often exploited in burner phone crimes, foreigners are excluded from the scope of the multi-factor identity verification system. While the proportion varies by year, up to over 70% of burner phones identified by investigative agencies were registered under foreign nationals’ names. According to the National Police Agency, the number of detected burner phone cases was 55,141 in 2021 (44.1% under foreign nationals’ names), 53,104 in 2022 (13.7%), 30,577 in 2023 (9.5%), 97,399 in 2024 (73.3%), and 20,302 last year (14.7%).

There are concerns that, as it stands, the policy goal of blocking burner phone crimes will be difficult to achieve. There is an urgent need to improve the accuracy of facial recognition technology and to include foreigners in the system.

Kwak Daekyung, a professor at the Department of Police Administration at Dongguk University, pointed out, "In real criminal investigations, there are many cases where some foreigners, for a small fee, participate in 'identity lending' by opening mobile phones under their names." He added, "If the lack of management over mobile phone registrations under foreigners’ names continues, crimes exploiting these loopholes will keep occurring." He also stated, "Facial recognition must be nearly 100% accurate, so concerns about its reliability must also be resolved. If there are frequent recognition errors or significant inconvenience, the system will not become properly established."

The government plans to gradually stabilize the system and also quickly introduce an authentication system for foreigners. An official from the Ministry of Science and ICT said, "We have distributed guidance and training materials repeatedly, but due to the sheer number of distribution channels and workers, there are indeed some sites where the system is not fully understood." The official continued, "Unlike domestic ID cards, there is not yet a fully developed authenticity verification system for foreign registration cards and passports, so we are preparing to introduce the system in the second half of the year, allocating a budget for improvements."

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