S Korea plans to scrap online real-name system Updated: 2011-08-11 15:59 (Xinhua)

SEOUL - The South Korea government will push ahead with plans to scrap the current real-name system for Internet users in the wake of the country's worst online security breach, local media reported Thursday.

The Ministry of Public Administration and Security is set to report to ruling party lawmakers about comprehensive measures to protect personal information online, including abolishing the real-name registration system, Yonhap news agency said.

The real-name system, introduced in 2007, requires people to use their real names and resident registration numbers when making online postings on websites with more than 100,000 visitors per day.

The move comes after the personal information of about 35 million users of the country's popular Internet and social media sites Nate and Cyworld was stolen in a hacking attack last month.

The stolen data included user IDs, passwords, resident registration numbers, names, mobile phone numbers and email addresses.

It was the worst online security breach in South Korea since a cyber attack in 2008 on the website of Internet Auction Co, a unit of US-based eBay Inc, which forced 18 million users to change their password.