Due to 'Special Privilege Controversy'... Lowering Age Limit for Children to Receive Diplomat Passports

No Obligation to Return Previously Issued IDs for Those Under 24 Instead of Under 27

The age for issuing diplomatic passports to children of diplomats, which had been criticized as an excessive privilege, will be lowered from under 27 years old to under 24 years old.

According to a report by Newsis on the 4th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will announce and implement the amendment to the "Passport Act Enforcement Rules" starting from the 9th. The amendment passed the review by the Ministry of Government Legislation on the 29th of last month and is currently only awaiting publication in the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's official gazette.

The amendment includes lowering the age limit for unmarried children eligible for official and diplomatic passports from under 27 years old to under 24 years old.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had opposed lowering the age limit for eligible children, arguing that in Korea, children typically achieve economic independence at age 27 due to military service or university education. This is why the age was set at under 24 years old, a retreat from the original proposal to lower it to 18 years old.

Unlike ordinary citizens, children of diplomats have enjoyed diplomatic-level privileges even eight years after reaching adulthood. Representative privileges include immunity from prosecution by local authorities even if they commit crimes abroad, exemption from visa screening, and exclusion from airport immigration baggage inspections.

The original purpose was to grant privileges to children living with diplomats to facilitate smooth official duties, but there have been ongoing criticisms that issuing passports to adult children is excessive.

In major countries overseas, it is common to revoke such privileges once the diplomat's children reach adulthood. The United States issues diplomatic passports to children under 23 years old only under special circumstances, while China, Russia, France, Spain, Switzerland, and others generally issue diplomatic passports only to children under 18 years old. Australia does not issue diplomatic passports to children at all.

Even after the amendment is implemented, under the "principle of non-retroactivity of laws," those aged between 24 and under 27 who have already been issued diplomatic passports will not have to return their passports and can continue to use them.