Following romanization guideline for names on passports not mandatory: court
Names on South Korean passports do not have to follow the government's official romanization rules, according to a recent court ruling.
In its ruling unveiled Monday, the Seoul Administrative Court sided with the plaintiff in a case against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, overturning administrative procedures that denied a name change based on government romanization standards.
According to the country's Passport Act, romanization of Korean names on Korean passports should follow the Ministry of Culture's romanization guideline.
However, the court ruled that the guideline does not carry binding force, as there is no evidence that allowing alternative spelling would result in immigration control issues, or compromise the credibility of Korean passports.
The ruling came after a couple applied for their daughter's passport in 2023, requesting that her name 'Tae' be written as 'Ta' in the English alphabet. However, the passport was issued with the former spelling, which followed official romanization guidelines.
The local authority in Suwon, which processed the passport on behalf of the Foreign Ministry, had deemed 'Ta' inconsistent with the romanization rules stipulated by the Culture Ministry.
When the parents asked for the name to be changed to their originally requested spelling, the Foreign Ministry rejected the request, citing the Enforcement Decree of the Passport Act, which allows changes only under limited circumstances.
The court stated in its decision that although the requested spelling, 'Ta,' may not strictly align with official romanization rules, the rules are essentially a non-binding guideline — not an enforceable legal standard.
The court emphasized that unless a requested name change could clearly undermine the international credibility of Korean passports or be exploited for criminal purposes, the government should not refuse such requests.
The ruling highlighted that rigidly applying romanization rules undermines the intent to allow flexibility in passport name spellings, particularly in cases where the name requested reflects commonly accepted English naming practices.
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