SOUTH KOREAN IDENTITY CARDS

SOUTH KOREAN ID CARD SYSTEM IS BEING REBUILT FROM SCRATCH
Park Geun-hye
Caption: South Korean President Park Geun-hye herself became a victim of data theft.
The South Korean identity card system may need to be completely overhauled following massive data thefts since 2004.

The government is considering issuing new South Korean identity card numbers to every citizen over the age of 17, which would cost billions of dollars.

According to experts, the identity numbers and personal data of an estimated 80 percent of the country's 50 million residents have been stolen from banks and other targets.

Rebuilding the system could take up to a decade, one said.

Around 20 million people, including President Park Geun-hye, have fallen victim to a data theft by three credit card companies.

“The problems have become so large that a complete solution seems unlikely,” technology researcher Kilnam Chon told the Associated Press.

There are several reasons why South Korean ID cards are so easy to steal:

South Korean ID card numbers were first issued in the 1960s and follow the same pattern to this day. The first digits correspond to the user's date of birth, followed by a one for males or two for females.
According to experts, their cross-industry use makes them master keys for hackers.
Once data has been leaked, citizens can no longer change it.
The government required internet users who wanted to transact with banks or online stores to use a Microsoft product and ActiveX for digital signatures. However, critics complained that the password was simple and could easily be copied.

The news will be embarrassing for a country that has earned a reputation as one of the most tech-savvy nations in the world.

Approximately 85 percent of South Korea's population is online, and many have superfast internet access. The country's population owns 40 million smartphones.