By Ko Dong-hwan

Community centers in Korea will help foreign residents across the nation deal with legal paperwork by issuing signature verification certificates from Saturday.

The Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs said Thursday the service will be extended from city halls, regional government offices and offices of "eup" or "myeon" districts to community centers administering village units called "dong."

With the policy update, foreigners living far from urban centers no longer need to travel to the closest local authority for the service.

"Immigration offices that used to handle tasks related to signature verification for foreigners and Koreans with foreign citizenship transferred the responsibility to village authorities in April 2016," the ministry said. "Foreigners can now have their personal information checked at community centers, which is requisite for filing for the certificate."

A signature verification certificate is required when foreigners make financial or legal agreements. It is mostly used when buying a car or a property.

The latest service upgrade, following a legal revision in December 2016, comes amid rising demand. In 2013, 2,859 certificates were issued, followed by 11,566, 18,498 and 27,942 in following years, according to the Hankook Ilbo.

As of April, over 108,000 foreigners and 112,000 Koreans with foreign citizenship have applied for the certificate.