Electronic signature

Electronic signature (전자서명/電子署名) or e-signature is referred to any electronic means that indicates either that a person adopts the contents of an electronic message, or more broadly that the person who claims to have written a message is the one who wrote it (and that the message received is the one that was sent).

By comparison, a signature is a stylized script associated with a person. In commerce and the law, a signature on a document is an indication that the person adopts the intentions recorded in the document. Both are comparable to a seal.

E-signature is essential to ensure authenticity and non-repudiation. In Korea, since the Digital Signature Act (전자서명법) came into force in July 1999, e-signature has been widely used from the Internet banking to the verification of oneself in on-line transactions. Initially e-signature was designated as only digital signature based on the public key infrastructure (PKI), but later has been expanded to cover such biometrics as finger print, iris, etc.

Use and effect of e-signature
Increasingly, encrypted digital signatures are used in e-commerce and in regulatory filings as digital signatures are more secure than a simple generic electronic signature.

In many countries, including the United States, the European Union and Australia, electronic signatures (when recognised under the law of each jurisdiction) have the same legal consequences as the more traditional forms of executing of documents.

Though morse code was used to send messages electronically by telegraphy before the American Civil War, some of these messages were agreements to terms that were intended as enforceable contracts. An early acceptance of the enforceability of telegraphic messages as electronic signatures came from the New Hampshire Supreme Court in 1869. In the 1980s, many companies and even some individuals began using fax machines for high-priority or time-sensitive delivery of documents. Although the original signature on the original document was on paper, the image of the signature and its transmission was electronic.

Court cases
With the development of biometrics and cryptography, courts in various jurisdictions have decided that enforceable electronic signatures can include agreements made by e-mail, entering a personal identification number (PIN) into a bank ATM, signing a credit or debit slip with a digital pen pad device (an application of graphics tablet technology) at a point of sale, installing software with a clickwrap software license agreement on the package, and signing electronic documents online. Korea has seen such developments with the timely amendment of the Digital Signature Act in 2001. However, an e-signature is widely used as a secret key and other data necessary to obtain the public certificate for authentication (공인인증서) indispensable for the Internet banking transactions.

Supreme Court Decision 2008Do11361
The Supreme Court delivered the following decision on May 14, 2009, assuming that a person who continues to control and manage the information on the secret key based on the public key infrastructure is legally eligible for the public certificate for authentication.
 * In view of the legislative purports of Article 23(2) and systemic composition of Articles of the Digital Signature Act, and the prohibited acts and punishment thereof, the "act which has or causes the public certificate for authentication to be issued in the name of other person" refers to an act to deprive the other person of the control over the information on his/her digital signature, acquire the information on such digital signature and other materials necessary to apply for the public certificate for authentication so as to obtain such public certificate for authentication in the name of the other person. Accordingly, if the other person still maintains the right to control over the information on his/her digital signature, and permits or delegates application for the public certificate for authentication, the person who has successfully obtained the digital certificate for authentication in the name of the other person shall not be subject to punishment under Articles 31(3) and 23(2) of the Digital Signature Act.
 * Likewise, a person who has obtained the public certificate for authentication of a company which he represents, or has obtained the public certificate in the name of such company upon the approval or delegation of its representative, shall not be subject to punishment under the Articles 31 iii and 23(2) of the Digital Signature Act.

Enforceability of e-signature
In 1996 the United Nations published the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce. The model law was highly influential in the development of electronic signature laws around the world, including in the United States and Korea.

The U.S. Code defines an electronic signature for the purpose of U.S. law as an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with a contract or other record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record. It may be an electronic transmission of the document which contains the signature, as in the case of facsimile transmissions, or it may be encoded message, such as telegraphy using Morse code.

In the United States, the definition of what qualifies as an electronic signature is wide and is set out in the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act ("UETA") released by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) in 1999.

Under UETA, the term means "an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record." This definition and many other core concepts of UETA are echoed in the U.S. ESign Act of 2000.

In the European Union, the EU Directive on Electronic Signatures or the EU Electronic Signatures Directive (Directive 1999/93/EC) has been a Community framework for electronic signatures.

Other means of authentication
Most legal systems have special procedures or requirements that are intended to enhance the reliability of handwritten signatures. Traditionally in Korea, it has been required by law to affix a name plate and his/her own seal, as well as his/her handwritten signature.

Some procedures may be mandatory in order for certain documents to produce legal effects. They may also be optional and available to parties that wish to act to preclude possible arguments concerning the authenticity of certain documents.

Typical examples include the following:
 * Seals: The practice of using seals in addition to, or in substitution of, signatures is not uncommon, especially in certain regions of the world. Signing or sealing may, for example, provide evidence of the identity of the signatory; that the signatory agreed to be bound by the agreement and did so voluntarily; that the document is final and complete; or that the information has not been altered after signing. It may also caution the signatory and indicate the intent to act in a legally binding manner.
 * Notarization: In certain circumstances, the act of signing has a particular formal significance due to the reinforced trust associated with a special ceremony. So the certification by a notary public to establish the authenticity of a signature on a legal document is required. For notarization, the physical appearance of the person before the notary is necessary.
 * Attestation: Attestation is the act of watching someone sign a legal document and then signing one's name as a witness. The purpose of attestation is to preserve evidence of the signing. The witness can be called on to testify as to the circumstances surrounding the signing.