Validity of Passports Will Be Extended Next Year

The validity of ordinary passports will be extended to 10 years, and separate passports will be issued to children under eight years of age.

The government decided upon a revised bill of the Passport Act in the Cabinet Council under the presidency of Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan on the morning of September 21.

The revised bill extends the validity of ordinary passports from five years to 10 years. However, the validity of passports of those under 18 years of age will be five years.

Before, the children under eight were supposed to be listed on their parent’s passports. However, separate passports will be issued to these children from this point on.

This new system will be first enforced on the residents of Seoul starting next January, and will later be enforced throughout the entire country next July. In the meanwhile, the government has decided upon a revised bill of the military service law, which allows the director of the Military Manpower Administration to administer military duties of celebrities in priority. Also, the maximum age limit of military duty for those with Korean nationality was raised from 31 years to 36 years.

Yong-Gwan Jung yongari@donga.com