Mobile national health insurance cards to become available on private apps

The Ministry of Interior and Safety announced Wednesday it has selected 21 new services for its "2026 Digital Service Opening" initiative, which allows citizens and businesses to access frequently used public services through the private platforms they already use.

The Digital Service Opening program provides public services in API form so that individuals can conveniently access them through the private apps they use most.

The ministry plans to solicit private companies to participate in the newly selected services, choose participating firms, and support the integration of private platforms with public services.

The newly selected services span health and medical care, employment and industrial accident insurance, performance and sports facility reservations, and credential verification — areas with high utility across everyday life and business operations.

In health and medical care, the selections include the National Health Insurance Service's mobile national health insurance card issuance and inquiry service, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service's "My Medications at a Glance" tool, and the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service's electronic claims service for out-of-pocket industrial accident insurance treatment costs.

The employment and industrial accident insurance category includes several services closely tied to business operations, among them the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service's issuance of employment and industrial accident insurance premium assessment records, certificates of full premium payment, and insurance benefit payment confirmations.

For performance, sports and facility reservations — supporting citizens' leisure activities — the selections include the National Gugak Center's traditional music performance ticketing service, the Korea Forest Service's hiking and trekking reservation and management system, and Osan Urban Corporation's public parking lot information service for Osan.

In credential verification, the ministry will open services including the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee's athlete certificate issuance, the Ministry of National Defense's military identity verification service, and the Korea Veterans Health Service's national merit holder eligibility inquiry system.

The ministry also plans to expand the Digital Service Opening program to support the continued spread of AI services, and to establish API standardization and system integration infrastructure with AI services in mind.

Hwang Gyu-cheol, director general of the ministry's AI Government Office, said the rapid adoption of public AI services has been possible because of the active use of APIs built through the Digital Service Opening program. "We will push ahead with the Digital Service Opening — the core foundation of AI services — at greater speed to realize an 'AI democratic government,'" he said.