[Q&A on the Abolition of Public Certificates] Year-end Tax Settlement with Fingerprint Recognition?

[Asia Economy reporters Bu Aeri and Kim Hyojin] The public certification system, which caused many inconveniences due to complicated procedures, has finally disappeared. It has been 21 years since its introduction in 1999. This follows the passage of the full revision of the Electronic Signature Act at the National Assembly plenary session on the 20th. Until now, certificates issued by government-recognized institutions such as Korea Information Certificate Authority and the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute were mainly used, but going forward, private certificates will also have equal status. Above all, simplification of the authentication process is expected.

◆ Why was the public certification system abolished?

The controversy over abolishing the public certification system dates back to 2014. The issue arose during the Park Geun-hye administration with the "Cheon Song-yi coat" incident. It was reported that overseas shoppers gave up purchasing the coat worn by Cheon Song-yi, the protagonist of the drama "My Love from the Star," due to ActiveX and the public certification system. At that time, the Financial Services Commission removed the mandatory use of public certification for e-commerce, improving payment issues. However, the public certification system maintained a superior status compared to other private certificates under the Electronic Signature Act, and major public institutions insisted on using it. Even now, a public certification is essential to obtain civil documents such as resident registration certificates from public websites.

◆ Will public certificates no longer be usable?

The certificates themselves are not disappearing; rather, the "public" designation among many certificates is being removed. Currently, only certificates issued by authorized institutions such as the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute, Koscom, Korea Information Certificate Authority, Korea Electronic Certification Authority, and Korea Trade Network hold the "public" status, but with the passage of the revision, public certificates and private certificates are legally equal. The relatively complex public certificates are expected to naturally phase out.

◆ What about this year's year-end tax settlement?

The enforcement date of this revision is six months from now. Public institutions may change their authentication systems before then, but they are unlikely to rush. However, considering that this year's year-end tax settlement will be conducted early next year, the authentication process for year-end tax settlement could be simplified. When logging into the National Tax Service website for year-end tax settlement, if the National Tax Service partners with private certificates, login will be possible using those certificates.

◆ Can authentication be done by fingerprint recognition?

There are many private authentication services, but representative ones are "PASS" and "KakaoPay." PASS, a mobile identity verification service by the three major mobile carriers, allows authentication by entering a 6-digit PIN or fingerprint recognition after launching the mobile app. KakaoPay, used in KakaoTalk, works similarly. Nowadays, fingerprint recognition, which is simpler than entering a PIN, is more widely used. As biometric authentication technology advances, facial recognition and iris recognition may also be used in addition to fingerprint recognition.

◆ How will financial services change?

There will be no major immediate changes. The Financial Services Commission abolished the mandatory use of public certificates for financial transactions in March 2015. Most financial institutions, including internet-only banks like Korea Kakao Bank (KakaoBank), have adopted various private authentication methods. There is also an authentication system called "BankSign," introduced in 2018 under the leadership of the Korea Federation of Banks. A representative from a commercial bank said, "Public certificates have been used as one of several authentication methods, and their reliance has already decreased significantly," adding, "This trend is expected to continue for the time being."