SEOUL, KOREA --- The Ministry of Justice announced on December 26 that non-Koreans aged over 17 who enter Korea will have to be fingerprinted and have their picture taken starting on January 1, 2012.
The regulation went into effect in September last year but it only applied to those who are suspected of forging identification or suspected terrorists. The target of the regulation was expanded in July this year to long-term foreign residents in Korea and will be expanded again to all foreigners who enter the country. Non-Koreans under 17 years old and those with special requests from diplomats or governors will be exempted.
Countries like the U.S. and Japan have conducted the fingerprint entry system for foreigners since 2004 and 2007. England and EU countries check fingerprints and faces of visitors when issuing a visa or alien identification card.
The system is operated with a screen that runs eleven foreign languages including English, Chinese, and Japanese. Following an introduction on the screen, a visitor touches both thumbs on a scanner and the machine scans the fingerprints in a few seconds and takes a picture of the user.
If refusing to register, entry into Korea can be barred according to the Immigration Control Law of Korea.
The Ministry expects that the system will contribute to decreasing crime by foreigners in Korea and prevent the entry of suspected terrorists.
Meanwhile, as of December this year, over 1,000 non-Koreans including 576 Chinese, 161 Thai, and 102 Vietnamese have been caught at immigration checkpoints.
They were recorded as illegal aliens or those who had been deported for committing crimes. All of them were barred from entering the country, the Ministry explained.
