Korea guards against online ID theft

South Korean authorities have introduced a new online identity system in an attempt to combat a wave of identity theft that affected more than one million people earlier this year.

Citizens will now be able to apply for a special Internet Personal Identification Number, or i-PIN, the country's Ministry of Information and Communication announced this week.

Koreans commonly use their 13-digit citizen registration numbers to verify their identities online. However, due to lax security at internet firms, databases containing these numbers have fallen into the hands of criminals. The numbers have also come under fire because they contain personal information which the holder may not wish to divulge online, including gender, and place and date of birth.