S. Korea set to revise controversial e-arrival card: Report

Seoul, March 31 (CNA) South Korea is moving to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliation measures, according to a Korean media report on Tuesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's foreign ministry plans to remove the "previous departure place" and "next destination" fields from its e-arrival card system.

A ministry official said the plan, reached after inter-agency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the digital form with the paper version.

The fields -- which appeared only on the electronic form -- will be removed for all inbound travelers, not just Taiwanese visitors, the official said.

The official added that the move is technical and administrative in nature, not a response to any deadline set by Taiwan, but part of efforts to facilitate practical, non-official exchanges.

The change follows controversy over the system listing Taiwan as "China (Taiwan)" in dropdown menus in its new online entry system.

Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would consider retaliatory adjustments to how South Korea is labeled in Taiwan's own system if no response was received by March 31.

• Taiwan backs off retaliation against South Korea amid controversy

More specifically, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said Taiwan would revise its own online immigration entry system, changing the country's listing from "Republic of Korea" to "Korea (South)."

However, the ministry said Tuesday it would temporarily hold off on such changes, citing South Korea's ongoing review and its expectation of a positive response to Taiwan's concerns.