On the 1st, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety introduced three types of public services as ‘July’s recommended services’ to accommodate the upcoming summer vacation season: applying for passport reissuance through a private app, using English driver’s licenses, and a chatbot for carry-on item guidance.
The ‘passport reissuance application via private sector’ service began in June last year. Traditionally, applying for passport reissuance was only possible by visiting a community center or through the ‘Government24’ website. Now, it is also available through the KB Star Banking app ‘Kookmin Wallet’. Users can register photos and pay fees all at once, and a notification feature is provided six months before passport expiration. Applications can be made online, but recipients must visit the counter in person to return the existing valid passport. Minors, first-time electronic passport applicants, and government passport applicants are excluded from this service.
The English driver’s license can be used in 69 countries without needing an international driver’s license. The back of the driver’s license includes the name, date of birth, and license number in English. Its validity period is the same as the domestic driver’s license, which is 10 years. Issuance is possible online or at any nationwide driver’s license test center or police office traffic civil service room. The fee is 10,000 won, and 15,000 won if combined with a physical examination. For issuance, the existing license or ID and a passport photo should be brought, and if used abroad, a passport should be carried together.
Korea Airports Corporation’s chatbot ‘Ask Safety’ can be used on KakaoTalk. By adding the ‘Korea Airports Corporation Security Inspection’ channel as a friend, users can input item names or sentence forms such as power banks and liquids in the conversation window to instantly check if they are allowed on board. Additionally, users can check security inspection procedures, valid IDs, and contact information for airports and airlines nationwide.
Yong-seok Lee, the Director of Digital Government Innovation at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated, “We will continuously discover and improve services that are practically helpful to the public.”
