The South Korean government has issued revised guidelines on handwritten entry logs required at small businesses like restaurants for contact tracing purposes, as part of efforts to boost the use of encrypted personal numbers.

In February, the government rolled out the encrypted data service to better protect privacy, but it has been slow to take off, in part due to lack of public awareness campaigns.

The revised guidelines, released earlier this week, strongly recommend that people use their encrypted individual numbers, not their personal phone numbers, for visits to widely used business establishments, public offices and community centers. Businesses are allowed to skip identity checks on patrons to safeguard privacy.

The format of manual entry logs has been changed accordingly, demanding an encrypted personal number and allowing a personal phone number only as an alternative. The changed form can be downloaded on the websites of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and provincial governments for wider distribution. (Yonhap)