Freer US Travel

Visa Waiver Program Sharply Boosts Bilateral Exchange

The U.S. move to include Korea in its visa waiver program is a welcome _ if belated _ reminder of the close and strong relationship between the two allies.

Barring some technological hitches, Koreans will be able to travel or do business in America for up to 90 days without a visa from next July. This is meaningful, as the policy, an unexpected gift of the toughened U.S. security bill, has resolved one of the longest pending issues between the two nations. Particularly, Korea is one of the three new members added to Washington’s VWP list of 27 countries, which had been frozen since 9/11.

The U.S. Congress and President Bush are right in tightening immigration screening while easing visa-free criteria for allies with clean terrorism-related track records, like Seoul. Moreover, as seen by the ongoing hostage crisis involving 22 Koreans in Afghanistan, this country is one of the victims of terrorism. There is hardly any need for mentioning the economic aspects of the VWP inclusion, as the two governments have signed a free trade pact and are waiting for parliamentary ratification.

Koreans have paid more than $100 million a year to get U.S. visas so far. Harder to bear for most of them than the financial costs were often the time and energy they spent on them as well as unkind treatment by U.S. officials, resulting from a sharp imbalance between supply and demand as well as the chronic manpower shortage at the U.S. embassy. Trifling as it might seem, these kinds of minor grievance, when accumulated, could tarnish a country’s image, while unnecessarily hurting the pride of its partner. The time has long past now to end such unproductive friction.

Actually, the new policy will likely benefit the U.S. The number of Korean visitors to America, now totaling 900,000 a year, is expected to double when the VWP takes effect, sharply benefiting U.S. tourism and other industries. In this vein, Washington is advised to also increase visa quotas for Korean professional workers, as they will not take jobs away from Americans but will contribute to filling the slack in the U.S. labor market.

Not all Koreans should benefit from the relaxed U.S. system, though. The government should tighten its watch on U.S.-bound travelers, such as the women who stirred controversy by engaging in prostitution in major U.S. cities. Seoul also needs to sharply enhance its own immigration procedures so as not to be used as a transit for potential terrorists.

We hope both governments will cooperate positively to make the long lines snaking into the U.S. embassy in the heart of Seoul a thing of the past as soon as possible.