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South Korea's Telecom Face-Verification Mandate Will Initially ... South Korea will require facial recognition for all new mobile phone subscriptions from July, matching each applicant’s face against their official identification photo at sign-up, but the mandate will initially leave out foreign residents. The Ministry of Science and ICT says the work to link the scanning system with separate foreign-identity databases is not ready, so non-citizens will be excluded until a second-half rollout. The requirement is aimed at the burner phones behind the country’s voice-phishing networks. Under the policy, telecommunications operators must match a customer’s official ID photo against a real-time facial scan during the sign-up process, closing a gap that lets fraudsters register phones under stolen or borrowed identities. The crackdown is squarely aimed at budget carriers, whose non-face-to-face online registration has made them the main channel for the practice, accounting for 92.3 percent of seized illegal phones in 2024, up from 76.5 percent in 2022. Excluding foreign residents reopens a sizable part of the problem the rule is meant to fix. Figures submitted to the National Assembly …

South Korea Now Requires Facial Recognition to Buy a Phone | State of ... TL;DR:Starting December 24, 2025, every person in South Korea must scan their face in real-time to activate a new mobile phone number. The government says it's to fight voice phishing scams, and they have a point, since 92% of counterfeit phones came through low-cost carriers in 2024. But the infrastructure now exists: a nationwide biometric verification system tied to telecommunications, with no opt-out. Today it stops scammers. Tomorrow it stops anyone the government decides shouldn't have a phone. As of December 24, 2025, South Korea became the first country to mandate real-time facial recognition verification for all mobile phone registrations[1]. The new process: This applies to all three major carriers (SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus) as well as existing mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). By March 23, 2026, all remaining low-cost carriers must comply[2]. Previously, customers only needed to present identification to activate a phone. Now biometric verification sits between every Korean citizen and mobile communication. The verification uses PASS, an identification app developed jointly by Kor…

Korea begins trial of mandatory face recognition for new mobile numbers A mobile phone store in Yongsan, Seoul, is seen in this file photo. Yonhap 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, KT 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 organizations. 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 illegal…

S Korea launches mandatory facial recognition for new phones Concert goers check their mobile devices during the K-Pop concert as part of the 2023 Seoul Festa opening ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, 30 April 2023. EFE-EPA/JEON HEON-KYUN/FILE Seoul (EFE).- South Korean residents will be required to use a real-time facial recognition program to activate new mobile phone lines starting Tuesday, under a pilot measure that authorities say is aimed at combating telephone fraud. The rule requires anyone seeking to open a new mobile line in the country to verify that their face matches the photograph on their identification document through PASS, a facial recognition application widely used by public institutions, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. The nation’s three major mobile carriers — SK Telecom, KT and LG U+ — as well as virtual mobile operators must begin applying the measure from today. It is scheduled to take effect officially in March 2026. The South Korean government has said the application will only verify whether a user’s face matches the photo on their ID and will not store personal identity data, in an effort to ease public concerns amid a series of major data…

S. Korea to begin facial verification for new mobile phones next month SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will implement facial recognition technol...

South Korea to mandate face biometrics for new mobile numbers by 2026 South Korea to mandate face biometrics for new mobile numbers by 2026 Dec 23, 2025, 6:43 am EST | Lu-Hai Liang Categories Biometrics News | Consumer Electronics | Facial Recognition South Korea is joining a growing number of Asian countries that require face biometrics for new mobile phone numbers. The country’s Ministry of Science and ICT announced a mandatory biometric step will be introduced, which targets the use of illegally registered phones in voice phishing and identity theft schemes. The measure means South Korea’s three major mobile operators — SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus — as well as mobile virtual network operators, must verify that a customer’s face matches the photograph on their government‑issued ID in real time before activating a new number. “By comparing the photo on an identification card with the holder’s actual face on a real-time basis, we can fully prevent the activation of phones registered under a false name using stolen or fabricated IDs,” the ministry said in a release, according to The Korea Times . Authorities say the additional biometric layer is designed to block phones opened unde…

S. Korea to mandate facial recognition for opening new mobile numbers SEOUL -- South Korea will make it mandatory for people to undergo facial recognition when opening a new mobile phone number, as part of efforts to root out illegally registered handsets used for scams, the science ministry said Friday. Under the plan, South Korea will require the country's three mobile carriers, SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Inc., along with mobile virtual network operators, to carry out the additional verification step to prevent the activation of new numbers through identity theft. The announcement came after South Korea unveiled a set of comprehensive measures to fight voice phishing scams in August, including tougher punishment for mobile carriers that fail to carry out sufficient preventive efforts. "By comparing the photo on an identification card with the holder's actual face on a real-time basis, we can fully prevent the activation of phones registered under a false name using stolen or fabricated IDs," the ministry said in a release. The ministry noted scammers will face more hurdles in activating new phones using information obtained from hacking attacks. The new policy wi…

South Korea ministry weighs delay to mandatory face verification for ... A policy to make facial verification mandatory when activating mobile phones has been put on hold. [Photo: Shutterstock] A policy to mandate facial verification during mobile phone activations has hit a snag, leaving the Ministry of Science and ICT weighing its next steps. The National Human Rights Commission issued recommendations for improvements, saying the measure could affect the exercise of basic rights. The ministry is considering countermeasures. Some also expect it may delay the planned date for full implementation, which was slated for next week. The ministry has been pushing a plan to introduce facial verification in the mobile phone activation process as financial fraud crimes such as voice phishing using so-called burner phones have emerged as a social problem. The goal is to block burner phone activations at the source by matching the face photo on an ID card with the actual face of the cardholder. The plan applies facial verification procedures via the PASS app for new sign-ups, number portability, device changes and changes of subscriber name using resident registration cards and driver's lice…