Samsung Wallet now supports mobile drivers licenses in South Korea

Samsung Wallet is the first privately-run mobile app to introduce the South Korean government’s mobile ID cards, including mobile driver’s licenses (mDL) and the national veteran’s registration card. The Korea Herald reports that officials from the Interior Ministry and the Presidential Committee on the Digital Platform Government showcased the identity verification capabilities at a recent government event to publicly launch the digital IDs.

Since debuting in 2022, the ROK government’s mobile driver’s license and ID card program has issued more than 2.22 million digital identification cards through the Interior Ministry. However, Samsung Wallet, the mobile payments and digital wallet app from the country’s largest tech chaebol, has up to 17 millions users in South Korea alone. As a direct launch pad for issuing mobile ID cards, it means users do not have to download the ministry’s app – and that many more people are already using a service that can issue mobile ID.

For the moment, Samsung Wallet is the only private app able to issue mobile driver’s licenses and veterans cards. But the government says it has plans to expand the service to other providers, and to broaden the types of available ID to include digital national identification cards, residence cards for Korean nationals residing overseas, and resident registration cards for foreign nationals.

The South Korean Interior Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with Samsung Electronics in October 2023 to introduce mobile ID cards to the private sector. Meanwhile, Samsung Wallet has made headway in the U.S., partnering with Idemia to add support for mDLs in Iowa and Arizona.

Article Topics

digital ID  |  digital wallets  |  driver's license  |  identity verification  |  mDL (mobile driver's license)  |  Samsung  |  Samsung Wallet  |  South Korea