Taiwan backs off retaliation against South Korea amid controversy

Taipei, March 31 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is suspending retaliation measures against South Korea that had been set to take effect Wednesday after Seoul said it is updating its e-arrival system, MOFA said Tuesday.

The latest measures were to be a new round of retaliation after Taiwan changed South Korea's designation on government-issued alien resident certificates (ARCs) held by South Korean nationals starting March 1 from the official "Republic of Korea" to "South Korea."

The move came after months of protests to Seoul over its listing of Taiwan as "China (Taiwan)" in dropdown menus in its new online immigration entry system.

MOFA said last week that if South Korea did not respond positively before a March 31 deadline, Taiwan would also revise its own online immigration entry system, changing the "Korea, Republic of" listing to "KOREA (SOUTH)."

• Taiwan threatens to downgrade S. Korea's listing in e-arrival system

MOFA spokesman Hsiao Kuangwei (蕭光偉) said Tuesday during a weekly briefing that Seoul had informed Taipei ahead of the deadline that it was updating its e-arrival system "for the purpose of facilitating international travel."

According to Hsiao, South Korea did not specify whether the update would replace Taiwan's designation, nor did it provide a timeline for the change.

"Given the fact that we have clearly expressed our demand, we expect that the Korean side can give an appropriate response," he said.

The dispute began after South Korea introduced a new online immigration entry system on Feb. 24, 2025, as an alternative to paper landing cards that listed Taiwan as "China (Taiwan)" in dropdown menus.

According to Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), South Korea had previously shown goodwill by postponing the full phaseout of paper arrival cards, which had originally been scheduled for February this year.

Taiwan has made it clear, however, that Seoul should show its respect by revising the listing in its e-arrival system to "Taiwan" as soon as possible, he said.