Title
Apostille Korea urges direct receipt of originals to curb forged document damage As long as documents are collected from the person submitting them, an in-house verification team can hardly filter out forgeries.
Content
Apostille Korea said that reducing damage from forged documents requires receiving official records as originals through a trusted agency channel rather than from the person submitting them. It pointed to how easily forgery brokers can be reached through search portals and social media.
- Searching forgery-related keywords on search portals and social media makes it easy to reach brokers who forge official documents.
- Advertisements openly claim that most existing documents can be forged, from test score reports and technical certificates to seal certificates, resident registration cards and criminal record certificates.
- Institutions, associations and companies have set up verification teams, but the documents still come from the person submitting them.
- The staffing and cost required for simple verification work is also cited as a burden on running such teams.
How far document forgery has spread
Searching keywords related to official document forgery on portals such as Google, Naver and Daum, and on social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, makes it easy to reach brokers who offer forgeries. The range of documents advertised for production is wide. Promotional claims cover most existing records, from university entrance and English test score reports and technical certificates to seal certificates, resident registration cards and criminal record certificates. Brokers operate with their email addresses and mobile numbers openly displayed on public websites, yet enforcement remains difficult in practice. On the 5th, a flight attendant in her forties was found to have filed a false birth report claiming children she had not borne and to have improperly obtained maternity leave and various allowances. It was possible because she had commissioned a forged birth certificate from a broker, and Seoul Gangnam Police Station said it was investigating on the view that she had bought the forged certificate online and then filed a false birth report at a community service centre.
Why a verification team alone cannot stop it
Institutions, associations and companies have been putting countermeasures in place against damage from forged documents. The most common approach is to create a verification team. Such teams receive documents related to employment, personnel and marriage, including academic and graduation certificates, criminal record certificates and Overseas Korean Registration certificates, from the individual concerned and then check them with the relevant ministry or branch office. Their effectiveness, however, remains in question. Assigning staff and paying for what is essentially routine checking is a burden on the organisation. The bigger problem is that the verification team still receives documents from the person submitting them, so the structure of requesting records from the very party who could have forged them stays intact. Apostille Korea explained that the issue cannot be resolved unless administrative and civil documents are received directly from a trustworthy agency channel or from the issuing government body.
Frequently asked questions
Can a company filter out forged documents by setting up a verification team?
Only to a limited degree. Such teams also receive documents from the person submitting them, so the structure of requesting records from a party who could have forged them remains.
Which documents are advertised as forgeable?
Promotional claims cover most existing records, from test score reports and technical certificates to seal certificates, resident registration cards and criminal record certificates.
How can the damage be reduced?
Instead of collecting documents from the person submitting them, the recommended approach is to receive the originals directly through a trusted agency channel or from the issuing government body.
Source: 세종포스트 · 2017-04-12