Registering at Korean websites

I have been waiting for this to happen....
According to this news report :

Internet service providers such as portal sites, e-commerce and online game companies must change membership registration process that oblige users to give their resident registration number, Korea’s version of the personal ID number. The current excessive reliance on such information has been subject to heavy leakage of private data.
The Korea Communications Commission announced a revision to the Act on Promotion of Utilization of Information and Communication Network and Data Protection. All portal sites with average daily visitors of 50,000 or more, and all online commercial and games websites with average daily visitors of 10,000 or more must devise a new membership registration process that does not require resident registration number.
About 1,176 websites will be affected by the new rules. The original membership registration process can be used only when the joining member prefer it. Alternative ways to confirm identification would be use of i-PIN, credit card numbers, or official electronic certificates issued by banks and mobile phones.

As of now many South Korean websites require the submission of a valid resident registration number in order for users to register an account. This practice ties each registered account to a unique online identity, rather than allowing anonymous registration. However it is also very easy for hackers to get the personal data of all the people who register and use it for their own nefarious needs. The Commission hopes that these measures will stem the leak of personal data which has been increasing in recent times. In fact, there was a recent high profile case, where the personal information of some 10.81 million users of Auction, Korea's largest e-marketplace, was leaked in a hacking incident. It was the largest compromise of user information in a single hacker attack in Korea's history. Lets wait and watch!
Meanwhile that reminds me of the problems that foreigners still face here in Korea regarding registration for Korean websites. Because only a few large websites allow alternate means of identification, such as an alien registration number or passport number, foreigners cannot use many websites.
Even those that do use strict criteria for foreigners who wish to subscribe to their services -- and there are no set standards either. It is possible for foreigners registered with the Immigration Office of the Justice Ministry to apply for services on portal sites such as Naver and Empas with their ID numbers. But they are required to send copies of their alien registration cards by fax if they want to use services on CyWorld or CGV. And errors frequently occur even on Naver during the subscription process.
A couple of months ago, there was this news article which said that foreigners will have easier access to the Internet here.

The Justice Ministry will provide services that allow all foreigners in South Korea to sign up on local Web sites if they give the service ways to confirm the real names of foreign online users, the ministry announced.
So far, only those who reside in the country and acquire alien registration numbers can join local Web sites as members. They have to submit their alien registration numbers and names to join. As the ministry has expanded the service, any foreigners here may now join local Web sites by submitting a passport number. Local Web sites ask Korean online users to provide a residence registration number to confirm their real name.
Foreigners who have questions regarding the service may contact the ministry by dialing 1345, or the Korean Association of Information and Telecommunication, (02) 580-0571.
The ministry also announced that it would provide the service to verify the validity of alien registration cards to financial institutions in order to prevent crimes using forged alien registration cards.

However, I have tried registering for some websites and found it to be utterly frustrating. It is very typical ....they keep shouting from rooftops that they will make life easier for foreigners and announce grand plans. But the ground situation remains the same. They never bother to check whether the policies are implemented well.