Evolution of PKI Internet Banking in Korea

Most banks in Korea have provided Internet banking services based on PKI(Public Key Infrastructure) certificates since the early 2000s when Internet banking began in Korea. To support PKI Internet banking, the Korean government backed the electronic signature law and supported the rapid spread of PKI-based Internet banking by regulating the application of PKI certificates to be compulsory in Internet banking until 2015. PKI Internet Banking in Korea has been developed as a pioneer in this field through many challenges and responses until its present success. Korea's PKI banking, which started with soft-token-based closed banking, has responded to various types of cyber attack attempts and promoted the transition to open banking by accepting various criticisms due to lack of compatibility with international standards. In order to improve the convenience and security of PKI Internet banking, various attempts have been made, such as biometric-integrated smartphone-based PKI authentication. In this paper, we primarily aim to share the experience and lessons of PKI banking by analyzing the evolution process of PKI Internet banking in Korea. It also has the purpose of presenting the challenges of Korea's PKI Internet banking and sharing its development vision.