1. The third meeting of the directors-general for consular affairs of the Republic of Korea and Thailand took place in Bangkok on July 27. The meeting was chaired by Director-General for Overseas Koreans and Consular Affairs Kim Wan-joong of the Foreign Ministry and his Thai counterpart Chatri Archjananun.

2. In the meeting, the two sides engaged in in-depth discussions on major consular issues between the two countries, including resolving difficulties faced by their nationals of the two countries when entering and leaving, or staying in each other’s countries; strengthening bilateral cooperation to protect their nationals in each other’s countries; and the possibility of transferring the ROK’s advanced e-Apostille technology to Thailand.

o (Thais denied entry into the ROK) The two sides took note that people-to-people exchanges between the two countries have increased, with the number of people visiting each other’s countries reaching about 2 million last year. With next year marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the ROK and Thailand, the two sides agreed to further expand bilateral cooperation in not only political and economic but consular affairs.

- However, considering the fact that more than 10,000 Thais had been denied entry into the ROK at its airports and sent back to their country from January until late May this year, which could become an obstacle to the development of the ROK-Thailand relations, the two sides agreed to create a director-level consultative mechanism between the two countries’ immigration authorities and discuss ways to reduce the number of Thais denied entry into the ROK and illegal immigration.

o (Protection of the two countries’ nationals in each other’s countries) The two sides shared the view that with the continued increase in people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, the need to protect their nationals in each other’s countries is also increasing. They agreed to make joint efforts to protect the rights of the nationals of the other country, including guaranteeing a detainee or an arrestee the right to access consular officers.

o (Cooperation in e-Apostille) As Thailand is not a party to the Apostille Convention, the two sides agreed to pursue cooperation in e-document technology between the two countries’ Internet promotion authorities.

3. The two sides agreed to hold the next meeting in the ROK at an appropriate time, taking into account their schedules and pending issues.


* unofficial translation