Seoul not to issue driver's license to short-term foreign visitors

By Bahk Eun-ji

Foreigners visiting Korea for a short time will not be able to obtain driver's licenses, the National Police Agency (NPA) said Sunday.

Foreigners visiting Korea a short time will not be able to obtain driver's licenses amid a growing number of traffic accidents abroad caused by foreigners with the Korean licenses which are relatively easy to earn, the National Police Agency said Sunday. /Korea Times file

The measure comes amid a growing number of traffic accidents abroad caused by foreigners with Korean licenses which are relatively easy to earn. Since September, those holding new Korean driver's licenses with English on the back can drive in 35 nations without the need for an international license.

The NPA said a relevant revision bill is likely to be passed at the National Assembly soon. Once the bill is passed, only foreigners who stay here for more than 90 days and register as aliens will be allowed to obtain the licenses.

According to data released by the NPA, 5,977 foreigners obtained driver's licenses here during their short-term stays from January to November this year. Among them, 5,389 or 90.2 percent were Chinese.

Chinese have accounted for the largest number of foreigners who obtained driver's licenses here. According to the data, 7,822 Chinese did so in 2015 and 7,213 in 2016, and the number dropped dramatically to 3,748 in 2017 due to the Chinese government's virtual travel ban to Korea following a diplomatic spat sparked by the deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in the country.

The figure bounced back to 4,675 in 2018 and 5,389 for the first 11 months of this year.

These numbers exclude Chinese who obtained licenses while staying here for over 90 days.

Many Chinese nationals come here to obtain a driver's license because the process is simpler here than in China, the NPA said.

The compulsory training time for a driver's license is 13 hours in Korea, while it is 63 hours in China. Even if an applicant fails the test, they can take it again only after three days in Korea without additional compulsory training, but in China, the person has to wait 10 days for a second chance.

People with Korea-issued driver's licenses are allowed to drive in China. And because South Korea-issued international driver's licenses are recognized by signatories to the Vienna Treaty, Chinese with Korea-issued licenses can drive in other countries too. Driving in other countries has become even easier since September when Korea adopted the new license with English-language information.

Some tour agencies have even taken advantage of the situation, providing a package that includes a program for obtaining a driver's license in Korea.

However, the NPA said the Korea-issued driver's license could lose its credibility as there is a growing number of traffic accidents caused by Chinese with Korean licenses in other countries.

“Some European countries have already brought up the issue to Korea, and the Chinese government also asked the Korean government to restrict license issuance to short-term Chinese visitors,” an NPA official said.

“The easy issuance to foreigners has had side effects. We expect the revised rule to increase the credibility of Korea-issued licenses again.”