​South Korea Aims For Paperless Society With Wider E-document Use

South Korea will allow the wider use of e-documents for laws that previously required physical paper reports, with the goal of a paperless society by 2021, the government has announced.

A revised law, which will take effect sometime next year, will recognize e-documents as viable. It will turn around 1,400 current laws that require physical paper reports from banks, companies, and government institutes.

The goal is to move towards a "paperless society," and save around 1.1 trillion won in costs by 2021.

Once a paper report is scanned as an authenticated e-document, organisations will also be allowed to dispose of the physical reports.

Currently, most banks store two copies, one electronic and one physical, for the same documents, aggravating costs. The government estimates that around 100 million paper reports are being created and stored a year by banks.

The government will also commence a promotional campaign for the wider use of e-documents, in use for drug prescriptions, car check-ups, and registered mail.

The government also announced a plan to promote the use of 3D printers and will provide 500 schools with 3D printers by 2022. It unveiled a 10-year roadmap to promote the use of 3D printers back in 2014.

A 24-hour first-response protocol against ransomware will also be set up. If a company is hit by a ransomware attack, the government will work with local telcos to block access from the point of attack within three hours. A vaccine will be deployed for the hit company as well as cloud back-up support.

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