[Editorial] ‘Lineage Incident’ Proves Dangers of Online Real-Name System

Day by day, the fallout from an incident of identity theft involving the Korean online game Lineage grows bigger. The incident, in which someone stole the names and citizen numbers of countless people and registered for the online game, confirms that the side-effects of the online real-name system was more than just worries. The unsettling feeling that something might happen to you should you write your name and citizen number on the Internet has turned into reality right in front of our noses.

Not all the facts are in, but it is supposed that someone registered for Lineage under several peoples’ names to trade in game items. This means someone highly skilled in the game tried to quickly acquire online items by opening several game accounts. If this is true, it would pretty much make it an instance of computer hacking to make money.

When you register for most online services in Korea, including Lineage, you are asked to enter your citizen number in order to confirm your real name. This name verification system, which aims to stop people from registering multiple times, is implemented only in Korea. In foreign countries, in services involving online money transactions, only indirect identity confirmation methods are used. Accordingly, this incident was something that could only happen in Korea. It also revealed the shortcomings of confirming identity using ones citizen number.

Groups dealing with personal information issues have been persistently pointing out the dangers of the real-name system, and in particular, the method requiring the entry of ones citizen number. They say that because one can do almost anything as long as he or she have your citizen number, the negative side-effects resulting from the theft of citizen numbers were too great. In this particular incident, there is almost no chance that the victims who had their identities stolen will suffer financial losses. One cannot say, however, that there will be no cases involving large financial damages in the future. We must pull out from the roots the practice of unnecessarily using real names, while quickly coming up with means safe, alternative means to confirm identity.

The Hankyoreh, 16 February 2006.

[Translations by Seoul Selection]