South Korea to roll out facial recognition for phone registrations

South Korea will require facial recognition for all new mobile number registrations starting March 2026, according to the country’s science ministry.

The rule will apply to SK Telecom, KT, LG Uplus, and mobile virtual network operators, aiming to reduce scams involving illegally registered phones.

A trial run is expected to begin next week.

The government said the new step will help prevent identity theft by matching ID card photos with a live facial image.

This move follows an earlier set of anti-voice phishing measures announced in August, including stricter penalties for telecom companies that fail to stop fraudulent registrations.

🔗 Source: Yonhap

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Facial electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) mandate brings scope, tech rules, and data use questions

March 2026 rollout has unclear scope. It may cover new numbers, SIM swaps (replacing a Subscriber Identity Module), or number portability (keeping a phone number while changing telecom carriers). Remote embedded SIM (eSIM) activation could be included, which would raise work for carriers and MVNOs.
Technical rules are still hidden. Operators need direction on liveness checks, match thresholds, minors or elderly or foreigners and whether checks run online or in-store.
Under the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), biometric data is sensitive and needs separate consent or a legal basis, with security duties 1. Storage, encryption, or cross-border handling remain unresolved for overseas backends 1.
The trial starts next week and gives a window to test systems. With no liveness or match targets, vendors could build to the wrong spec.

Facial eKYC vendors can win deals by building to Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) standards

Vendors that align now with PIPC’s October 2024 security guidance gain an edge 2. That covers authentication methods, encryption with randomized salt values, plus anti-bot steps like CAPTCHA 2.
The rule reaches all three major carriers plus MVNOs, with buyers facing PIPA-sensitive handling demands 1.
Voice phishing hit 21,588 cases and 1.1 trillion won in losses by November 2025. Regulators can penalize fraud lapses, so certified eKYC is risk control.
Use the trial as a proof-of-concept slot with a ready tool that covers the facial mandate and PIPA duties 1.