Koreans were unable to use an official mobile ID app for six hours on Friday due to a service disruption that also temporarily disabled the mobile ID card website, though the latter was down only briefly.
The mobile ID is managed by Korea Minting and Security Printing Corp, a government-owned corporation that is mainly known for producing South Korea’s currency as well as certain government documents. Its mobile ID service first launched in July of 2022, and authorities have been planning to establish the digital ID as a legally bona fide alternative to physical identity cards in the second half of 2024.
The disruption came on the heels of an earlier failure on the part of the government’s administrative network on the morning of November 17, with efforts to restore that network taking more than two days. A government civil service portal had also briefly been disrupted on the 17th.
In a press conference this weekend, government authorities attributed the disruptions to a suspected router failure, and said that there were no signs of a cyberattack.
The network failures have led to some sharp criticism from the ruling government’s opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, which has asked for the resignation of Interior Minister Lee Sang-min. “Since when did the world-class level digital government become inferior to a corner shop?” said a DPK spokesperson.
The disruptions may also undermine trust in mobile and digital ID system beyond Korea’s borders. Interest in such solutions has been ramping up, thanks in part to efforts from global bodies like the United Nations Development Program and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Earlier this month, India announced a $25 million “Social Impact Fund” meant to help promote other countries’ efforts to implement Digital Public Infrastructure, of which digital ID is considered a key component.
That South Korea, known for its bustling tech industry, would see an hours-long outage of mobile ID may provoke apprehension among officials and citizens abroad who are mulling the prospect of mobile-based digital ID. At the very least, it will underscore the need for mobile IDs to be able to operate offline.
For the Korean government’s part, Vice Interior Minister Ko Ki-dong assured reporters that his ministry “will self-correct to build a stable, digital government to prevent the recurrence of such issues that inconvenience the public under any circumstances.”
Sources: The Korea Times, Yonhap News Agency
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November 28, 2023 – by Alex Perala
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