[Blockchain Digital ID Innovation②] Blockchain Mobile ID Reader Republic of Korea

On the day of the 22nd National Assembly election, voters at polling stations nationwide were notably using their smartphones to verify their identity with mobile IDs and receive ballots for voting. The ability to vote without a physical ID drew significant attention.

South Korea is recognized globally as a leader and exemplary case in mobile identification. In fact, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety of South Korea was the first in the world to establish a blockchain-based mobile ID issuance system, and citizens have been issuing mobile IDs through this system for everyday use.

Since early 2021, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety began issuing blockchain-based mobile government employee IDs, allowing civil servants affiliated with government offices and central ministries to use various identity verification services such as building access and system login with just their smartphones. Following this, from early 2022, mobile driver’s licenses were issued, enabling citizens to conveniently verify their identity with the mobile driver’s license stored on their smartphones when conducting business at banks or community centers, facilitating financial transactions and civil services. Furthermore, since June last year, mobile national veterans registration cards have been issued, integrating 15 types of IDs for national veterans and related beneficiaries into one. This allows recipients to receive the same honors and support as before without a physical ID.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to further expand blockchain-based digital IDs. Earlier this year, the ministry allocated a budget of 24 billion KRW for the introduction of mobile resident registration cards and announced that from 2025, mobile resident registration cards will be issued to citizens aged 17 and older. Additionally, the plan is to extend mobile IDs to include foreigner registration cards, disability registration cards, and other types.

The Ministry’s mobile ID issuance system was built by RaonSecure, an IT security and authentication platform company, based on its blockchain-based identity and qualification authentication platform. The issuance history of mobile ID applicants and verification records during financial transactions or use of various government services are recorded on distributed blockchain nodes, making forgery or tampering nearly impossible. This also effectively prevents data loss or damage due to failures, ensuring excellent personal information protection and stability.

South Korea’s leadership in blockchain-based mobile IDs has attracted significant international interest. The World Bank is actively promoting the spread of digital IDs to address populations in the ID blind spots who are excluded from basic social infrastructure and welfare such as education, healthcare, and finance, and who are vulnerable to crime due to unverified identities.

On the 3rd of last month, World Bank officials visited South Korea and held meetings at RaonSecure’s headquarters with related institutions and companies including the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation to discuss spreading the Korean-style mobile ID K-DID model and strengthening partnerships. The Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation reported receiving considerable interest and requests for adoption of the Korean-style mobile ID K-DID from Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia, as well as Latin American countries including Costa Rica and Paraguay. RaonSecure explained the technical differences between the centralized identity authentication (CID) system and the blockchain-based decentralized identity authentication (DID) applied in the Korean-style mobile ID, as well as global trends.

Earlier in March, the World Bank also held discussions with the Korea Digital Certification Association to analyze case studies of South Korea’s digital ID and discuss global expansion.

An industry insider stated, “South Korea’s mobile ID is a representative exemplary case of blockchain-based national digital IDs, whose necessity and justification are emerging worldwide, and many countries and the international community are actively pursuing its adoption. Through the South Korean government’s commitment to digital government implementation and the excellent technological capabilities of domestic companies, Korea’s blockchain digital ID technology will stand tall as a global standard and contribute to human society.”

Thus, South Korea’s blockchain-based mobile ID is recognized worldwide as a model system for national digital ID frameworks and is attracting great interest from many countries aiming to implement digital governments. Especially developing countries in need of digital ID adoption are closely discussing and cooperating with the Korean government and companies.