1. The Foreign Ministry held the 35th meeting of the Passport Policy Deliberation Committee on January 5, and deliberated on whether to extend the ban on travel to six countries (Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Afghanistan) and some regions in the Philippines (Zamboanga Peninsula, Sulu Archipelago, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi Islands), and whether to permit exceptional passport use for new projects in more regions of Iraq.

※ Travel bans are imposed on certain countries or regions pursuant to Article 17 of the Passport Act. 

2. After the deliberation, the Committee judged that political instability, the poor security situations, and terrorism risks in the six countries and the Philippine regions will continue for quite a while, and decided to extend the ban on travel to the countries and regions for another six months until July 31, 2018.

3. At the meeting, the Committee also deliberated on whether to permit exceptional passport use for new projects in more regions of Iraq, and decided to allow deliberation on passport use in the regions where new projects were banned in the past (Anbar, Ninawa, Saladin, Kirkuk and Diyala in Iraq).

o The Committee took into account the latest change in Iraq’s security situation after the Iraqi government declared the end to its war against ISIS (December 9), as well as the expected economic effects of Korean companies’ increased presence in the Iraqi market.

4. Considering the continuing instability in Iraq, including the unstable security situation and terrorism risks, the Foreign Ministry will give priority to the safety of Korean nationals when deliberating on applications for exceptional passport use based on the results of the Passport Policy Deliberation Committee’s deliberation.

* unofficial translation