Director-General for Consular Affairs and Safety Yoon Chusok of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the 12th Republic of Korea–Mongolia Consular Consultation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building on Monday, February 23 with Director of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia Bat-Ochir Bold. The two sides held extensively discussed a wide range of consular issues between the two countries, including ▴facilitating the entry, exit, and stay of Korean nationals in Mongolia, and ▴protecting Korean nationals in Mongolia.

※ Past ROK–Mongolia Consular Consultations: the 11th (May 2024, Ulaanbaatar), the 10th (December 2018, Seoul)

Director-General Yoon noted that, building on the bilateral relationship that has developed across various fields including political, economic, and cultural areas over the past 36 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1990, the two sides should continue to work closely together in the consular field to deliver tangible outcomes. He also highlighted the active people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, noting that approximately 360,000 nationals of the two countries visited each other last year,* and requested Mongolia’s special attention and cooperation to ensure the safe stay of Korean nationals in Mongolia and to further enhance their convenience.

* ROK → Mongolia: 186,000; Mongolia → ROK: 176,000

In particular, Director-General Yoon appreciated Mongolia’s decision to extend by one year, as of late December last year, the visa waiver for Korean nationals visiting Mongolia for tourism purposes. Furthermore, he requested continued active cooperation to further enhance convenience for Korean visitors and expand people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

Director-General Yoon also requested that Director General of the Mongolian Immigration Agency Uuganbayar Nergui, who attended the consultation, pay more attention to minimize inconvenience experienced by Korean nationals in entering, exiting, and staying in Mongolia. He further suggested that the two countries work closely together to reduce the number of illegal Mongolian residents in Korea.

Both sides shared the view that the consultation, held approximately one year and nine months after the 11th consultation in Ulaanbaatar in May 2024, served as a meaningful opportunity to hold in-depth discussions on consular issues between the two countries, and reaffirmed the importance of enhancing the protection and convenience of their nationals through closer consular cooperation. The two sides agreed to hold the 13th ROK–Mongolia Consular Consultation in Ulaanbaatar at an appropriate time next year.