[LETTERS TO THE EDITOR]Curtailing identity theft

I understand that the abuse of stolen resident identification numbers has increased recently. There are a couple of reasons for the frequent ID theft cases.
First, citizens’ ID numbers provided by the government are used too many times in private transactions. They are used even in registering with most Web sites.
Second, there are no systemic regulations to punish ID thieves and to change ID numbers exposed to the public. The current law gives criminal punishment only to those who abuse ID numbers for the purpose of economic gain.
Third, the current ID numbering system is itself an infringement on privacy. An ID number tells the holder’s birthday, sex and hometown.
I suggest that the use of ID numbers be limited to important transactions, that the possibility of privacy infringement be removed and that those who steal and abuse them be more strictly punished.

by Lee Chang-beom