S. Korea to introduce mandatory facial recognition for new mobile phone registrations
South Korea will require facial recognition verification for all new mobile phone number registrations as part of a broader effort to curb scams involving illegally registered handsets, the Science Ministry announced on Friday, Qazinform News Agency cites Yonhap.
Under the new policy, the country’s three major mobile carriers, SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus, as well as mobile virtual network operators, will be required to implement facial recognition checks when activating new numbers. The measure aims to prevent identity theft.
The move follows the government’s rollout of comprehensive countermeasures against voice phishing scams in August, which included stricter penalties for telecom operators that fail to implement adequate preventive safeguards.
The ministry said real-time facial recognition, which compares an applicant’s live image with the photo on their identification card, will effectively block the activation of phones registered under false identities. Officials added that the system will make it significantly more difficult for scammers to open new phone lines using information obtained through hacking or fraud.
The policy is scheduled to take effect in March 2026, with a pilot program set to begin next week.
According to police data cited by the ministry, 21,588 voice phishing cases were reported as of November this year. Total financial losses reached 1.13 trillion won (around US$760 million), exceeding the 1 trillion-won threshold for the first time.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported South Korea's government is to allocate 10,000 Nvidia GPUs to SMEs, startups, AI projects starting February next year.
