Real-Name Online Registration to Be Scrapped

The Korea Communications Commission on Thursday said it will end online registration requiring resident registration numbers and other personal information as it is vulnerable to increasing cyber hacking.

The KCC presented its plan to President Lee Myung-bak as part of its report on next year's agenda.

The measure was implemented in July of 2007 and requires users of websites with more than 100,000 members to input their resident registration or credit card numbers so they act more responsibly when posting messages. A total of 146 websites fall in the category.

The system has been ineffective in preventing people from posting abusive messages or spreading false rumors. According to a study by the KCC, malicious comments accounted for 13.9 percent of all messages posted on Internet threads in 2007 but decreased only 0.9 percentage points in 2008, a year after the regulation went into force.

Another reason to scrap the rule is that it potentially discriminates against domestic companies. Internet users simply post malicious comments on Facebook, Twitter or other international websites, where the rule does not apply.

However, critics worry that the plan could lead to even more online vitriol as there are virtually no other ways to regulate the already vicious online community.