YONHAP NEWS

U.S. hints at longer process for Korea to join visa program

   By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, April 17 (Yonhap) -- South Koreans will have to wait until 2009 or even later to visit the United States on business or sightseeing without visas despite the imminent signing of a memorandum of understanding on the implementation of a visa waiver program (VWP), officials here said Thursday.

   The advise came amid a decreasing number of U.S. visa applicants here, with expectations running high that South Korea will join the VWP list by the end of this year. The VWP permits citizens of member countries to visit the U.S. without obtaining a visa if they are traveling for business or sightseeing.

   The South Korean government has fueled public hopes by openly saying it is trying to sign the visa pact by December and publicizing a plan to sign a related memorandum of understanding (MOU) later this week on the sidelines of the Camp David summit between President Lee Myung-bak and his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush.

   Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff are scheduled to sign the MOU, which will lay out details on what the two sides should do for Seoul's membership in the VWP, ministry officials said.

   The news has prompted many South Koreans to wait for the VWP, instead of seeking the costly and time-consuming procedures of applying for a U.S. visa.

   U.S. officials refused to reveal the exact month-on-month figure of U.S. visa applicants but they admitted to a slide in applications. They attributed it partly to a lack of proper understanding of the VWP and its entry process.

   "Even after the MOU is signed, many things will still need to be done on both sides to reach our goal," Julia R. Stanley, consul general of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, told Yonhap News Agency. "The VWP will not be implemented for Korean citizens until 2009, or possibly even later."
She said the signing of the MOU is not the end of the process but just the start of implementing full-scale legal procedures.

   South Korea is required to introduce an electronic passport that carries biometric information on an electronic chip, a measure Seoul plans to implement in the latter half of this year.

   "Our two countries must come to an agreement on bilateral information sharing and other security measures to help ensure the safety of international travelers," she said.

   For instance, the U.S. plans to establish the Electronic system for Travel Authorization, which will enable passengers to provide rudimentary personal information prior to their departure.

   She said about traveler information sharing, "It could be that individuals pass information about themselves or governments may exchange information."
Stanley also pointed out that even if South Korea becomes a VWP member nation, those hoping to travel to the U.S, for reasons other than business or pleasure will have to go through face-to-face interviews with U.S. consular officials and receive visas.

   Roughly 400,000 South Koreans applied for U.S. visas last year alone, making the embassy one of the busiest consular sections in the world. Of the applicants, more than 70,000 people sought student visas, according to the U.S. embassy.

   lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)