South Korea Confirms ID Database Restored Before Chinese Tourists’ Arrival

Access to South Korea’s national ID database was fully restored before the commencement of a visa-free entry program for Chinese tourists, according to officials from the interior ministry. This statement counters claims circulating on social media that linked a recent database outage to potential loopholes allowing tourists to bypass regulations regarding mobile phone account registrations.

The disruption occurred following a fire at the National Information Resources Service (NIRS) in Daejeon on September 26, 2023, which temporarily impacted parts of the government’s data network. However, the public data director at the interior ministry, Bae Il-gwon, stated that access to the ID database was reinstated by September 29, the same day the visa-free entry program for Chinese tourists commenced. “There are no problems now. The system was restored on the 29th,” Bae confirmed on October 13.

During the outage, telecom providers maintained their legal obligations to verify subscribers’ identities using official documents. Bae emphasized that while mobile stores could not cross-check ID authenticity with the government database during the downtime, they still performed identity checks using alternative methods.

Tara O, a US-based activist known for previous conspiracy claims regarding Chinese influence in South Korea, suggested in an October 11 post on X that the outage allowed Chinese tourists to open mobile phone accounts without proper identification. Her assertion drew from unverified claims that mobile shops were instructed to “activate phones first and verify later,” implying that this could lead to the use of forged or expired IDs.

Posts echoing these sentiments also emerged on platforms such as Threads and Facebook, alleging that the outage enabled tourists to create “burner phones” for illicit activities. These narratives have gained traction amid a backdrop of increasing anti-China sentiment in South Korea, particularly following political events involving former president Yoon Suk Yeol.

Reports indicate that approximately 150,000 mobile phone accounts were activated without complete ID verification during the outage, as revealed by data shared with an opposition lawmaker by telecom companies. South Korea’s Telecommunications Business Act mandates that mobile subscribers verify their identities through official documents, such as a passport or alien registration card, when establishing a telecom account. This system is designed to prevent fraud and ensure accountability.

Despite the challenges posed by the NIRS fire, representatives from South Korea’s leading telecom companies—SK Telecom, KT, and LG U+—communicated to AFP that they had adjusted procedures to an “activate first, verify later” model until the system was restored. According to one telecom executive, “from October 1, we completed sequential post-verification procedures, and most accounts were found to belong to legitimate subscribers.” Any accounts that did not match were set to undergo further verification or cancellation promptly.

While concerns about the misuse of registered foreigners’ IDs for “burner phones” have surfaced, authorities maintain that this issue predates both the NIRS incident and the recent visa-free policy. The ongoing conversation around these developments underscores the complexity of managing identity verification in an increasingly interconnected world, especially amid changing political and social landscapes.