Enforcement Decree Amendment Passed at Cabinet Meeting
Issuance Fees Exempted Until 2028
Used the Same as Certificate of Seal Impression
From now on, individuals can receive a Certificate of Personal Signature Confirmation, which holds the same legal effect as a seal certificate, free of charge. Although this is a temporary benefit applicable only until 2028, it is expected to accelerate the government's reform of the seal certificate system.
On the 26th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that the partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Confirmation of Personal Signature Facts, containing these details, was approved at the Cabinet meeting and will be enforced immediately from the 2nd of next month.
The Certificate of Personal Signature Confirmation was introduced in December 2012 as an alternative to the seal certificate to verify an individual's intent in public and private transactions. However, due to the long-standing practice of using seal certificates, the use of the Certificate of Personal Signature Confirmation has remained minimal. According to government statistics, the number of Certificates of Personal Signature Confirmation issued is 1.88 million, which accounts for only 6.3% compared to 29.84 million seal certificates issued.
The issuance process for the Certificate of Personal Signature Confirmation is also simple. While seal certificates require the creation of a seal and prior registration at the local town, township, or neighborhood community service center, the Certificate of Personal Signature Confirmation can be applied for at any such center nationwide without prior registration, and it is issued immediately after identity verification.
Moreover, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety is pushing for a major reform of the seal certificate system. Based on a comprehensive survey of national laws and local regulations, out of a total of 2,608 seal certificate-required tasks, 2,145 tasks (82%) with low necessity, such as simple identity verification, will be gradually reorganized by 2025. The first goal is to reorganize 295 tasks that have traditionally required seal certificates by the end of this year. For tasks that still require seal certificates, digital alternatives will be provided. These include ▲inter-agency information sharing (real estate registration), ▲simple authentication (online vehicle ownership transfer), and ▲online issuance of seal certificates via Government24 (for tasks with low relevance to property rights), all replaced by digital methods.
Accordingly, to promote the use of the Certificate of Personal Signature Confirmation instead of the seal certificate, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has decided to temporarily waive the issuance fee of 600 KRW per certificate until 2028. In particular, the usage classification of the Certificate of Personal Signature Confirmation has been revised to be the same as that of the seal certificate. Although the Certificate of Personal Signature Confirmation has the same legal effect as the seal certificate, the difference in usage classification caused confusion in practice, and this measure reflects those opinions.
Starting from October, applicants for the Certificate of Personal Signature Confirmation will also be able to verify their identity using the National Veterans Registration Card. Until now, there were 15 types of veteran-related ID cards, such as the National Merit Certificate, and no verification system for these veteran-related IDs existed, causing difficulties. However, since the establishment of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs in June last year, the National Veterans Registration Card has been unified, and a verification system has been established, allowing its use for Certificate of Personal Signature Confirmation applications.
However, to use the National Veterans Registration Card at local town, township, or neighborhood community service centers nationwide, linkage between the National Veterans Registration Card verification system and the resident registration information system is required, so this will be implemented six months after the promulgation. Vice Minister Ko Gi-dong stated, "We will make efforts to ensure that the Certificate of Personal Signature Confirmation is used more widely in daily life, taking this amendment to the enforcement decree as an opportunity."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
