1. The 20th Republic of Korea-Japan meeting of directors-general for consular affairs took place in Seoul on November 10, chaired by Director-General for Overseas Koreans and Consular Affairs Kim Wan-joong of the ROK Foreign Ministry and Director-General of the Consular Affairs Bureau Koichi Aiboshi of the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

※ The ROK-Japan meeting of directors-general for consular affairs is held in the ROK and Japan on a rotational basis.

2. In the meeting, the two sides reviewed the progress in the full range of consular cooperation, including on immigration-related matters and the protection of nationals in each other’s countries; and shared with each other information concerning the safety and visa policies during the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

° [Cooperation on immigration-related matters] With a record-breaking 9 million people estimated to engage in bilateral exchanges in 2017, -- up approximately 21% from 7.39 million in 2016 -- and with the number expected to reach a historic 10 million in the near future, the two sides discussed ways to better protect the two countries’ nationals in each other’s countries and improve immigration-related convenience.

° [Ways to support bids of young Koreans to build presence overseas] The two sides, taking note of the greatly growing youth exchanges since 1999 through the bilateral working holiday program, agreed to offer the youths of the two countries more opportunities to work in and visit each other’s countries.

- The quota of participants in the bilateral working holiday program, which stood at 1,000 in 1999, the year it was launched, steadily expanded, reaching 10,000 in 2012.

° [Cooperation in protecting the two countries’ nationals overseas] The two sides reviewed information regarding incidents and accidents attributable to growing people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, and asked each other’s governments to continue investigations and search operations for their nationals who had gone missing in each other’s countries.

° [Discussion on safety and visa-related measures during the PyeongChang Olympics] The Japanese side asked the ROK government to pay attention to the safety of the Japanese athletes and tourists during the sporting event. The ROK side responded by sharing the ROK government’s efforts to host the PyeongChang Olympics for “peace beyond safety.”

- The ROK government will put in place a variety of safety measures, including managing immigration and monitoring foreign visitors to the ROK. Furthermore, it will carry out promotional activities toward foreign diplomatic missions and improve convenience of foreign tourists in the ROK, including by allowing transit tour.

3. The two sides, attaching significance to the 20th ROK-Japan meeting of directors-general for consular affairs as a useful opportunity for a discussion on ways to step up consular cooperation between the two countries, drew a common understanding that substantial consular cooperation will lead to more robust people-to-people exchanges and a closer cooperation between the two countries across the board, including political and social affairs, economy, and culture.

4. The two sides agreed to hold the next meeting in Japan in 2018.


* unofficial translation