TAIPEI (Taiwan News) —  South Korea will remove country-related fields from its electronic arrival card form, defusing a dispute over labeling Taiwan as part of China.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced reciprocal measures if Seoul did not correct its designation of Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” by Tuesday. A South Korean foreign ministry official said on Tuesday that authorities plan to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from the form, per Yonhap News Agency. 

The official said the move is intended to improve convenience for Taiwanese visitors, streamline entry and exit procedures, and align the electronic form format with the paper version. The preparations are to be handled by the South Korean Ministry of Justice.

Currently, the two fields are only on the electronic form, so the authorities have decided to remove them. The change will apply to all travelers, not just those arriving from Taiwan.

The official described the measure as a “technical and administrative measure,” adding that it was not taken in response to Taiwan’s Tuesday deadline. Instead, the official said it should be seen as part of efforts to advance unofficial, substantive cooperation between South Korea and Taiwan.

While China may not welcome the move, the official said the impact is expected to be limited since the measure applies equally to all countries. The official added that South Korea continues to maintain necessary communication with China on issues of mutual concern.

MOFA Spokesperson Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said that South Korea has informed Taiwan that it is reviewing updates to the system. Taiwan is suspending planned changes to South Korea's label to give Seoul more time to address the issue.