The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is suspending retaliation measures against South Korea that were set to take effect tomorrow, after Seoul said it is updating its e-arrival system, MOFA said today.
The measures were to be a new round of retaliation after Taiwan on March 1 changed South Korea's designation on government-issued alien resident certificates held by South Korean nationals to "South Korea” from the "Republic of Korea," the country’s official name.
The move came after months of protests to Seoul over its listing of Taiwan as "China (Taiwan)" in dropdown menus on its new online immigration entry system.
Photo: Screen grab from e-arrivalcard.go.kr
MOFA last week said that if South Korea did not respond positively before today, Taiwan would also revise its own online immigration entry system, changing "Korea, Republic of" to "Korea (South)."
Seoul had informed Taipei ahead of the deadline that it was updating its e-arrival system "for the purpose of facilitating international travel,” MOFA spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) told a weekly briefing today.
According to Hsiao, South Korea did not specify whether the update would replace Taiwan's designation, nor did it provide a timeline for the change.
"Given the fact that we have clearly expressed our demand, we expect the [South] Korean side to give an appropriate response," he said.
The dispute began after South Korea on Feb. 24, 2025, introduced a new online immigration entry system that listed Taiwan as “China (Taiwan),” as an alternative to paper landing cards.
South Korea showed goodwill by postponing the full phaseout of its paper arrival cards, which had originally been scheduled for February this year, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said.
However, Taiwan has made it clear that Seoul should show its respect by revising the listing on its e-arrival system to "Taiwan" as soon as possible, he said.
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