The South Korean government is expected to open the electronic travel authorization (K-ETA) exemption for tourists from 22 countries including Taiwan.

File photo of President Yoon Seok-yue of South Korea.

(AFP)

[Instant News/Comprehensive Report] The South Korean government today (29th) announced a series of measures to stimulate domestic demand. It is expected that tourists from 22 countries including Taiwan will be exempted from applying for electronic travel authorization (K-ETA) when traveling to South Korea, which will continue until 2024. By the end of the year, it is hoped that the target of 10 million inbound tourists will be reached this year.

According to comprehensive foreign media reports, South Korean President Yin Xiyue announced in an emergency economic and people's livelihood meeting today that in addition to providing financial subsidies of 60 billion won (approximately NT$1.4 billion) for the promotion of tourism, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Countries such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom that have fewer cases of refusal to enter the country are open to exempting the requirement of applying for K-ETA in advance. The exact implementation time is still subject to the official announcement of South Korea.

Please read on...

In order to optimize the entry procedures, the issuance time of electronic visas will be reduced from the current 7 days to 1 to 2 days; and from May 1, it will be exempt from filling out the declaration form for carry-on luggage; international flights to and from China, Japan, Southeast Asia, etc. will also be It has increased to 80% to 90% of that before the epidemic.

In addition, transit visa-free inbound travel, which was once interrupted due to the Wuhan pneumonia (new coronavirus disease, COVID-19) epidemic, will also be restarted.

Passengers from 34 countries including Europe and the United States can enjoy visa-free entry travel when transiting in South Korea, and can stay for up to 30 days. Passengers from other countries can stay in Seoul and other capital circles for up to 3 days without a visa when participating in transit travel at Incheon Airport.