By Yi Whan-woo
Qualified applicants for international driver’s licenses can pick up their permits at certain police stations from Friday.
The National Police Agency said Wednesday that it will include 249 stations across the country as new licensing offices.
The decision comes amid growing demand for international driver’s licenses.
The number of successful applicants rose from 281,242 in 2010 to 301,890 in 2011, while the number of pick-up centers remained 26 nationwide. All of the 26 previous sites are driving test centers, including four in Seoul, two in Busan, one in each Daegu and Daejeon. Gwangju, one of Korea’s major cities, however, did not have a single pick-up center, according to police.
“We regard the newly-added pick-up centers will bring convenience to the applicants, including travelers, students and businessmen who plan to stay overseas for a certain period of time,” an official said.
Among the 249 police stations, 137 of them will begin the service from Friday.
Holders of an international driver’s license can drive vehicles in 95 countries that follow the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic. Some of them include the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, and South Africa. China, which many Koreans visit, however, is not on the list.