The Resident registration number, or 주민등록번호, is a 13 digit number issued to all residents of the Republic of Korea. Similarly to other countries' national registration numbers, such as the US' social security number, it is used to verify ones identity in various private transactions such as in banking and employment. In addition to these essentials, however, the number is used extensively for identification purposes online. Foreigners, upon registration with their city office, receive an alien registration number, which serves as a substitute, on their Alien Registration Card.
[edit] Components
The resident registration number consists of 13 digits, with each block serving a certain function, as illustrated below:
yymmdd-sbbbbnc
The first six digits signify the person's date of birth. For example, a person born on September 1, 1946, like President Roh Moo-Hyun, would have 460901 for the first six digits.
s, the seventh digit, indicates the sex and the century in which the person was born. The code used for each category follows:
- 9: male born 1800 - 1899
- 0: female born 1800 - 1899
- 1: male born 1900 - 1999
- 2: female born 1900 - 1999
- 3: male born 2000 - 2099
- 4: female born 2000 - 2099
bbbb, the eighth through eleventh digit, signify a code for the person's place of birth: eup, myeon, or dong.
n, the 12th digit, is a sequential number used to differentiate those of the same sex born on the same day in the same location.
c, the 13th digit, is a check digit, used to verify that the number has been transcribed correctly. It is generated from the rest of the digits.
[edit] Online Use
Many Korean websites require the submission of a valid resident registration number in order for users to register an account. This practice ties each registered account to a unique identity, rather than allowing anonymous registration. Because only a few large websites allow alternate means of identification, such as an alien registration number or passport number, foreigners are excluded from participating in much of the Korean internet.
The principle means of verifying a valid resident registration number is to use an algorithm to check the last digit against what it should be based upon the rest of the digits entered. A typical .php script used for this purpose annotated in Korean can be found at: 
주민등록번호 진위확인.
The widespread requirement of a valid resident registration number to create an account on a Korean website presents much opportunity for identity theft. For example, it was found that President Roh Moo-Hyun's 주민등록번호 was used to register on hundreds of pornographic websites. Complaints about this identity theft led the Korean government to implement since September of last year stiffer penalties for using another's resident registration number. Such a perpetrator is now eligible to 3 years in jail or a 10,000,000 KRW fine.
A cartoon illustrating this announcement can be found here: [1]
[edit] External Links
주민등록번호 - 위키백과 - Article on Korean Wikipedia
