South Korea is implementing a new rule requiring facial recognition for anyone signing up for a new mobile phone number. This measure aims to combat identity theft and associated scams, which have become a significant issue in the country. The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that the policy will take effect on March 23, following a pilot program set to start this week. All major mobile carriers and virtual network operators will be involved in this initiative. The ministry states that the facial recognition process will involve comparing a person’s identification photo to their actual face in real-time. This approach is intended to prevent the activation of mobile phones registered under false names using stolen or forged identification. South Korea has seen a surge in voice phishing scams, with 21,588 incidents reported by November of this year. In response to the growing problem, the government previously introduced stricter penalties for mobile carriers that fail to adequately address these scams. Adding to the urgency of this new requirement, a significant data breach occurred in April when SK Telecom was hacked, resulting in the theft of SIM card data from nearly 27 million subscribers. Privacy regulators criticized the telecom for not implementing basic security measures, which allowed hackers to access sensitive subscriber information. The combination of these factors underscores the challenges South Korea faces in safeguarding its citizens against identity-related crimes.