The inconvenience for overseas Koreans who had to send international mail and wait days for domestic banking tasks will disappear.
The Overseas Koreans Agency said it will launch a digital consular authentication financial power of attorney service starting at 9 a.m. on the 30th. Overseas Koreans can apply for a financial power of attorney on the 365 Civil Service Portal and then visit a diplomatic mission to receive only consular verification. The verified financial power of attorney will be electronically transmitted to the relevant financial institution through the systems of the Overseas Koreans Agency and the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute.
A domestic proxy can handle financial tasks by checking the document verification number and the principal's date of birth without receiving the original power of attorney. With no need to send international mail or wait for original documents to arrive, processing time and expense burdens are expected to be greatly reduced.
Until now, for overseas Koreans to handle deposits, loans, or various financial tasks at domestic financial institutions, they had to designate a proxy and send the original, consular-authenticated financial power of attorney to Korea by international mail from a diplomatic mission. In some cases, postal delivery took from several days to several weeks, and concerns about shipping costs and document loss were consistently raised.
When an overseas Korean applies for a financial power of attorney on the 365 Civil Service Portal, after consular verification at a diplomatic mission, the financial power of attorney is electronically transmitted to the relevant financial institution. A domestic proxy can handle financial tasks using the document verification number.
This service is the first outcome of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in May among the Overseas Koreans Agency, the Financial Services Commission, the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute, and financial companies to build the digital consular authentication financial power of attorney service.
The Overseas Koreans Agency plans to continue expanding participating financial institutions and to gradually broaden digital consular services to improve the convenience of daily life for overseas Koreans.
Shinhan Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), Hana Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, NongHyup Bank, Busan Bank, and Korea Post—seven financial institutions—will participate first in the launch of this service, and if demand grows for financial transactions using the digital consular authentication financial power of attorney, participation by financial institutions is also expected to increase.