Can a government guidebook make passwords less common? South Korea’s privacy regulator has taken a step in that direction. Its revised South Korea passkeys guidance now lists passkeys as one way organizations can protect access to personal data. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) posted the revision on its website in early November 2026. Biometric Update reported on it on November 13. This post covers what the regulator says, what it leaves out, and what you can do.
What the Regulator Changed
The PIPC revised an explanatory guide to its standard for safety measures, the rules that tell organizations how to protect personal information. According to the PIPC’s page, the number of authentication methods the guide describes grew from seven to twelve. The new entries include passkeys, QR codes and mobile apps.
The page is written in Korean. Its listed date is November 4, 2026, though an attachment name points to a November 5 release, so the exact day is unclear. Biometric Update summarizes the same change in English and adds that the update recognizes passwordless sign-in among the options organizations can use.
What a Passkey Does for You
A passkey replaces a typed password with a cryptographic key stored on your device. You unlock it with a fingerprint, face scan or PIN. The site never receives a password that someone could steal from a database or trick you into typing on a fake page.
That matters most for people who reuse passwords or struggle to keep track of them. The PIPC page also notes that frequent forced password changes can push people toward weak, easy-to-remember choices. The guide does not give technical passkey requirements, so how any one organization sets them up is still its own decision.
Other Updates in the Same Guide
The revision covers more than sign-in. Per the PIPC, public-sector system operators must run vulnerability scans and penetration tests at least once a year and fix findings without delay. The regulator also warns against storing encryption keys in plain text inside application code or configuration files. It adds guidance on API management, delayed software updates, and post-quantum cryptography as a possible future change.
The context is a rising volume of attacks on government systems. The Korea Herald reported in September, citing data from a lawmaker, that government security systems flagged 1.57 billion suspected attacks from January to July 2026. After screening, 353,748 were confirmed as real attacks. Those are figures from the lawmaker’s data as reported by the newspaper, not from the PIPC guide.
Limits and What Is Still Unclear
This is guidance, and the PIPC page does not call it binding. It states no effective date for the guide itself. The legal duties sit in the underlying standard, which the page says was amended on July 1. It does not say which year, so check the PIPC site before relying on that date.
The guide also does not say that any organization must adopt passkeys. It makes them an accepted option. Nothing in the sources I read says how many Korean services offer passkeys today. Passkeys also do not fix everything. A stolen, unlocked phone or a weak device PIN still carries risk, and setup differs between devices and services.
Scams are a separate problem. For that, see our look at Singapore’s AntiScam Pango app. For a different kind of tracking defense, read about Firefox fingerprinting protection.
Why It Matters to You
If you live in South Korea, you may see more services offer passkeys or QR code sign-in over time. Nothing in the guide forces that on a set date.
Anywhere else, the action is the same. This week, pick one important account, such as email or banking, and check whether it offers a passkey in its security settings. If it does, turn it on and keep a recovery method.
Sources
- Personal Information Protection Commission (South Korea), press release on the revised safety measures guide, listed November 4, 2026 (PIPC page)
- Biometric Update, “South Korea adds passkeys to updated personal data security guidance,” November 13, 2026
- The Korea Herald, “Cyberattacks surge across Korean public sector as breaches spread beyond business,” September 18, 2026