SEOUL, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- South Korea will adopt a biometric passport system next year to qualify for the United States' visa waiver program, the Foreign Ministry said.
The new passport will store biometric data including fingerprints and digital photos. It will initially be provided to citizens whose passports have expired, or who wish to replace their current ones.
The government plans to replace all passports in 2007 after a one-year test period, the Korea Times reported Friday.
To qualify for the visa waiver, South Korean applicants for U.S. visas must not surpass a 3 percent rejection rate -- down from 3.2 percent at present -- and the country must take steps to prevent its citizens from working illegally in the United States or committing visa fraud.
If South Korea meets these conditions, its citizens will be allowed to enter the United States for business or pleasure and remain up to 90 days without a visa.
There are currently 27 countries on the U.S. visa waiver list, which must all adopt biometric passports by Oct. 26 next year to retain the privilege. In Asia, only Australia, Japan and Brunei are currently on the list.
