Kakao participates in government's QR code electric registration to trace dance club visitors

By Park Sae-jin Posted : May 28, 2020, 10:59 Updated : May 28, 2020, 10:59

[Gettyimages Bank]

SEOUL -- Kakao, a major web service giant in South Korea, joined a state campaign to adopt a QR code electric registration system that will effectively trace visitors to entertainment facilities including dance clubs and singing rooms to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks with unknown sources.

From June 1, the electronic visitor registration that requires visitors to register their identity using a QR code-based smartphone verification system will be compulsory for high-risk facilities such as dance clubs, Hunting Pocha, and singing rooms, while it is recommended for restaurants, bars and other vulnerable facilities.

South Korea's largest web portal operator, Naver, will cooperate in the government in the QR-code visitor registration system. Kakao said it's ready to follow. "We have conveyed our will to participate in the electronic visitor registration system to the Ministry of Health and Welfare," a Kakao official said on Wednesday. Kakao plans to integrate the QR code registration service to Kakao Pay, a digital wallet service with more than 30 million users.

A QR code is a square-shaped image tag that is similar to a barcode used to direct people to designated websites or services. When users scan the image using a smartphone camera, the smartphone would automatically provide users' information to designated services after receiving consent. China has rolled out a health code management system using QR codes. Visitors are required to scan QR codes before they enter buildings.

South Korean health officials have experienced considerable difficulties in their epidemiological investigation in Itaewon, the epicenter of a COVID-19 outbreak near central Seoul in early May, because some people falsely wrote down personal information and contact numbers on the list of visitors to hide their identity.

The health ministry has decided to adopt the QR code visitor registration service in order to secure an accurate list of visitors and roll out a rapid quarantine management network. Visitors to high-risk facilities can register their information onto the government's visitor registration system by scanning a QR code using a smartphone app. The minimum amount of information required for quarantine purposes including dates, time and names will be collected and encrypted.
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