Foreign ministry to expand online consular service

SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Yonhap) -- South Koreans residing abroad will benefit from an improved consular service starting in 2019, including the online issuance of a major document, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

Currently, they need to visit the country's diplomatic missions to get a certificate of overseas resident registration.

Around 130,000 certificates are issued annually, each with an average fee of US$0.50, according to the ministry.

Earlier this year, it launched a project called G4K: Government for Overseas Koreans, that will last through 2020.

The first stage of the work has been completed, enabling the ministry to introduce the new online service.

The certificate will be issued immediately, available for printing, with a fee-free online application.

The ministry's consular call center also plans to introduce a Vietnamese translation service for South Koreans travelling to the region, in addition to the existing ones: English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Russian and French.

The move reflects the growing number of South Korean tourists traveling to Southeast Asian nations.

lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)