S. Korea begins trial of mandatory face recognition for new mobile numbers

Seoul, Dec 23 (IANS) South Korea on Tuesday launched a trial period for a new policy requiring people to undergo real-time face recognition when registering a new mobile phone number, as the government aims to curb scam attempts using illegally registered accounts.

The country’s three mobile carriers — SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus — along with mobile virtual network operators, will be required to follow the procedure in both in-person and remote settings under the new policy, which is set to be officially launched in March.

Under the policy, applicants are required to scan their face using PASS, an identification app developed by the three mobile carriers and widely used by public organisations, reports Yonhap news agency.

Amid concerns over the collection of biometric information, the government said the process only verifies whether applicants’ actual faces match the photos on their identification cards and that the data will not be stored.

The government also plans to revise the law to require mobile carriers to notify users of risks of becoming involved in crimes linked to illegally registered phones and also require them to oversee new subscriptions to prevent any fraudulent activities by their retailers.

Meanwhile, South Korean stocks opened higher on Tuesday, tracking a lift in Wall Street led by a rebound in tech shares.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 19.53 points, or 0.48 percent, to 4,125.46 in the first 15 minutes of trading.

Overnight, major U.S. indexes continued to show a bull run led by tech stocks, fueling expectations for a year-end Santa Claus rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.47 percent higher, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 0.52 percent, and the S&P 500 gained 0.64 percent.

In Seoul, tech giant Samsung Electronics climbed 0.81 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix advanced 1.72 percent.

—IANS

na/