- [IT Pioneer] Lee Soon-hyung, Chairman of the Board at RaonSecure
- Targeting the emerging “Agentic AI Management” market this year, enabling authorization and verification for AI assistants and robots
- Digital identity technology at the core — applying mobile national ID and driver’s license expertise to AI systems
- First-generation security venture entrepreneur with 30 years of authentication expertise: “There is no innovation without failure”
“What if robots, drones, and autonomous vehicles powered by artificial intelligence (AI) were issued their own identities, just like the resident registration cards we use today? That would allow us to enter a far more trustworthy AI era.”
Lee Soon-hyung, Chairman of the Board at RaonSecure, emphasized “digital identity” as a core pillar of the AI era. By assigning verifiable identities to AI systems and robots that handle tasks and payments on behalf of humans, he believes AI adoption and real-world applications across society can accelerate even further.
From Delivery Robots With “Digital Name Tags” to Autonomous Vehicles
RaonSecure is entering a new field this year called Agentic AI Management (AAM). Simply put, it is a business focused on issuing digital identities to AI assistants and robots.
For example, when a delivery robot enters an apartment complex, the building system could verify whether the robot is pre-registered and authorized before automatically opening the door. If an AI hospital assistant calls a patient to confirm an appointment, attaching a digital certification mark such as “Officially Verified AI of XX Hospital” would clearly distinguish legitimate calls from voice phishing scams. It would also be essential for identifying which AI system or robot malfunctioned in the event of an incident in offices or factory environments.
Chairman Lee’s vision is to establish a system in which all AI devices are assigned digital identities, enabling identity verification and permission management across connected environments.
He stated, “Within this year, we aim to demonstrate a real-world scenario where robots and autonomous vehicles securely communicate with each other by verifying each other’s digital identities.”
The Core Technology Behind Mobile National ID and Driver’s Licenses: DID
The technology that makes all of this possible is Decentralized Identity (DID). Instead of storing identity information on centralized servers, DID enables individuals to store and manage their identity data directly on their smartphones. This technology is also one of RaonSecure’s core competitive strengths.
RaonSecure’s technology has been applied to South Korea’s mobile driver’s license and mobile resident registration ID services, which were launched in 2022 and expanded further last year, becoming an integral part of everyday life for many citizens.
Chairman Lee Soon-hyung is a first-generation security industry expert who has dedicated more than 30 years to authentication technologies. He began his career as a founding member of SoftForum, one of Korea’s first cybersecurity companies. He was also responsible for implementing Korea’s first public certificate system and commercializing the world’s first biometric authentication international standard, FIDO. This track record is a key reason RaonSecure was selected as the government’s DID technology partner.
DID has gained attention primarily for its strong security advantages. According to Chairman Lee, the technology is built on blockchain-based architecture, making it highly resistant to data leakage, manipulation, and identity theft.
“Original personal data exists only on each individual’s smartphone, while servers store only cryptographic keys used to verify authenticity. Because there is no centralized server that stores personal data, even if a system is compromised, there is no personal information to be leaked,” he explained.
Thanks to its decentralized structure, DID also provides strong protection against hacking. To manipulate identity data, attackers would need to compromise dozens of interconnected servers simultaneously — a scenario that is practically impossible in real-world conditions.
Korea’s “Mobile ID” Aiming to Become a Global Standard
Chairman Lee views digital identity not merely as the digitization of physical ID cards, but as a fundamental transformation of national infrastructure and a core pillar of the AI era. He emphasized that even developing countries without fully established identification systems could enable citizens to access education and welfare services more easily by adopting digital IDs.
This is why RaonSecure released its core technologies as open source in 2024. Currently, RaonSecure’s technology has been applied to national projects in more than 10 countries, including Indonesia, the Philippines, and Costa Rica.
“No country wants its national infrastructure to become dependent on the proprietary technology of a single company,” Chairman Lee explained. “An open-source strategy is the starting point of trust that lowers barriers to adoption.”
Following news of Korea’s successful implementation of a national mobile ID system, government officials from more than 10 countries — including Spain, Mongolia, the Philippines, and Honduras — have visited RaonSecure’s headquarters to review the technology firsthand.
The key challenge for the global expansion of K-Digital ID is international standardization. In a market where no universal global standard has yet been established, the party that secures the standard first will gain market leadership.
“Europe is also accelerating the development of mobile ID systems,” Chairman Lee noted. “We are now at a critical crossroads — whether Korea’s digital ID becomes the international standard or leadership shifts to Europe.”
He added, “The standardization race cannot be won by corporate efforts alone. With strong government-level support through strategic digital diplomacy, K-Digital ID has the potential to become a global standard.”
“Don’t Hesitate — Just Do It”: A Company That Celebrates Failure
Last year, RaonSecure hosted an unusual internal event — a so-called “Failure Contest,” where employees shared unsuccessful projects and were recognized for the lessons learned. Chairman Lee believes that an organizational culture unafraid of failure is the foundation of true innovation. This philosophy is also reflected in the motto hanging in his office: “Don’t hesitate — just do it.”
Chairman Lee summed up RaonSecure’s future vision in a single phrase: “Make AI Fun and Secure.”
“As AI becomes more deeply embedded in everyday life, the most important value will ultimately be ‘trust.’ I want RaonSecure to be remembered as a company that builds a strong digital trust infrastructure, enabling people and AI to coexist safely and with confidence,” he said.
Source: Original interview published by Newsis (Korea)
Date: January 23, 2026
Title: AI 비서·로봇에 명찰 단다?…"디지털 아이디는 AI 시대의 안전벨트"
Link: https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20260123_0003488197
This content has been translated and edited for informational purposes.
