Opening a Mobile Phone and ID Verification for Foreigners

At a glance

• When signing a contract, a mobile carrier must check with an ID that the customer is the person in question. Foreigners and overseas Korean nationals are checked with an alien registration card, a resident registration card (including the mobile version), a domestic residence report card or a passport.
• With the customer's consent, the carrier checks identity through the fraudulent subscription prevention system.
• Msafer is a free identity theft prevention service run by the Korea Association for ICT Promotion (KAIT).
• The Ministry of Science and ICT has required face verification when opening a mobile phone since 2026-07-06.

Who needs to do this

• A mobile carrier must check with an ID that the contracting party is the person in question. This also applies to foreigners and overseas Korean nationals.
• For contracts made over the internet or another information network, an electronic signature that confirms the real name can replace the ID check.
• A foreigner whose alien registration card (including a domestic residence report card or permanent residence card) also shows a Korean-script name can open a phone line under that Korean-script name, as announced by the Korea Communications Commission on 2020-05-29.
• Since 2015-10-01, foreigners can open a mobile phone right away at the arrival airport, based on identity data stored during immigration inspection (Korea.kr policy briefing).
• A foreigner who has been issued an alien registration card can be issued a mobile alien registration card with the same effect.

Where to do it

• Opening a line: mobile carriers and their agencies and retail shops. Contracts through agencies and retail shops are also subject to the ID check duty.
• Identity theft prevention: Msafer is a free public service to prevent fraudulent opening of telecom services and identity theft. It is run by the Korea Association for ICT Promotion (KAIT).
• Fraudulent subscription and identity theft prevention help center: 1670-1382 (weekdays 09:00~18:00).

What to bring

• ID: alien registration card, domestic residence report card or passport. Overseas Korean nationals who hold a resident registration card use that card.
• If you cannot present one of these IDs, or the system cannot confirm that it is genuine, the carrier checks identity with an equivalent document set out in its terms of service.

Cost

• The Msafer identity theft prevention service is free.

Steps

• Step 1: Take your ID to a carrier agency or retail shop, or apply online.
• Step 2: With your consent, the carrier checks your identity through the fraudulent subscription prevention system.
• Step 3: The fraudulent subscription prevention system can ask public bodies that hold registration, residence report and immigration data on foreigners and overseas Korean nationals to confirm that the ID is genuine.
• Step 4: When checking identity, the carrier must explain the limits on use by other people and that violations can be punished.
• Step 5: After opening, you can look up all lines opened in your name at once on Msafer (subscription status inquiry) and block unwanted new mobile lines in advance (subscription restriction).
• Step 6: The carrier must tell users about the identity theft prevention, subscription status inquiry and subscription restriction services when signing the contract.

Common sticking points

• Face verification: since 2026-07-06, face verification has been carried out when opening a mobile phone at the 3 mobile carriers and MVNOs, in face-to-face and online channels (policy news).
• If face verification is difficult, you can use authentication through the mobile ID app of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety or, without a smartphone, a resident registration abstract issued the same day.
• An ID verification system for foreigners' IDs is planned to be introduced step by step in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice. At the 2026-07-01 briefing, the second half of that year was mentioned for alien registration cards and the following year for passports.
• At the same briefing, the government said it plans to tighten the requirements for foreigners opening lines even before the verification system is introduced.
• If you provide your phone for another person's communications (except for permitted cases), you can face imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 50,000,000 won.
• Opening and using a phone in another person's name as a condition of lending money, or recommending or advertising such contracts, is prohibited.
• Mobile phone identity verification on websites is a substitute for the resident registration number provided by identity verification agencies designated by the Korea Media and Communications Commission.

This guide is general information and does not decide individual eligibility. Laws and fees can change, so check the original text through the official links and with the competent authority.