The Ministry of Information and Communication said Tuesday it will convince 10 million computer users to trust digital authentication over written signatures by the end of next year.

The Ministry added that since the public is generally unaware of the benefits of digital authentication, only 27,000 certificates for digital signatures were issued as of Jan. 16.

The legally-binding certificates are issued by the Korea Information Certificate Authority, Korea Securities Computer Corp. and the Korea Financial Telecommunication & Clearings Institute.

In order to promote the use of digital signatures, the ministry will find measures to permit the usage of certificates as well as a resident registration card when opening a bank account or getting a credit card.

Starting next month, the ministry will test run secured e-mail services using the electronic signature and advertise the efficacy of digital signatures through a TV public awareness campaign in March.

The ministry's plan calls for securing 3.13 million digital authentication users this year and 10 million by the end of next year.