By Kim Cheong-won
Staff Reporter


Justice Minister Chun Jung-bae will meet the U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Alexander Vershbow on Wednesday to discuss the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), officials said.

The Ministry of Justice announced Tuesday that Minister Chun and Amb. Vershbow will meet at a Hotel in Seoul to discuss various judicial cooperation measures between the two countries including the visa-free program.

According to ministry officials, Chun is expected to suggest how to reduce the possibility of Koreans’ staying illegally in the U.S. and how to increase trust between the two countries’ immigration authorities,.

South Korea’s entry into the VWP will allow its citizens to travel visa-free to the U.S., either for business or pleasure, for up to 90 days.

Currently, 27 countries are on the visa waiver list. In Asia, Australia, Japan and Brunei are the only countries under the VWP. The list has not been updated since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. in 2001.

Listed countries need to adopt a biometrically enabled passport system by Oct. 26 this year.

In an effort to join the visa-free program, South Korea recently announced plans to introduce a biometric passport system this year.

The new passport system makes it possible for immigration officials to verify the identity of travelers through the use of biometric technology, such as inkless finger scans and digital photographs.

After a one-year test period, the government plans to complete the new passport system in 2007, government officials said.

It is Congress, not the U.S. administration, which can authorize visa waivers. The program is controlled by a law, requiring an applicant country to maintain a visa application rejection rate of under 3 percent for one year.

South Korea’s visa rejection rate in the past year was under 3.5 percent, according to sources. South Korean officials believe that the rate will go below the 3 percent level within a year.

Even when it meets the 3 percent condition, entry into the program is not automatic as the U.S. Homeland Security Department has to agree that South Korea poses no security threat, sources said.

South Korea is the seventh largest trading partner of the U.S., the fifth largest market for U.S. agricultural products and a strong security partner, which has the third largest number of troops helping the U.S. in Iraq.

More than 626,000 South Koreans visit the U.S. each year. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, overall tourism dollars spent in the U.S. by South Koreans exceeded $1 billion in the fiscal year 2004.

kcw@koreatimes.co.kr