A Korean court ruled that passport holders cannot change the Romanized spelling of their surname solely based on personal preferences if there is no practical inconvenience in daily life.
According to legal sources on Monday, the Seoul Administrative Court ruled against the 36-year-old plaintiff surnamed Lee in a lawsuit filed against the foreign minister to overturn the government’s refusal to change the spelling of his passport surname from “Lee” to “Yi.”
Lee filed a suit after his request to change the Romanized spelling of his surname on his passport was rejected. He argued that he had long used the spelling “Yi” since childhood, including in financial transactions, English ability tests and company ID cards, and that his passport spelling should reflect the same spelling.
The plaintiff also claimed that when he applied for the passport, he spelled his surname “Yi,” but a government official changed it to “Lee” before issuing the document. He said he requested his name to be spelled “Yi” when he applied for the passport a second time, but was told the change is not permitted, so he reluctantly received it with “Lee.”
The court ruled that the foreign ministry’s decision was lawful.
The court pointed out that changes in the Romanization of names in passports could make it difficult for foreign authorities to verify the identity of passport holders before and after such changes, potentially undermining trust in South Korean passports.
It added that such changes should be permitted on a limited basis when there is a significant need for it due to inconveniences in daily life, which it failed to recognize in the plaintiff’s case. It went on to note that documents using the spelling “Yi,” such as credit cards, English ability test score certificates and company ID cards, can be easily changed and reissued.
The plaintiff acknowledged his request did not fall under the first ten categories listed under the Enforcement Decree of the Passport Act that allow correction or changes to Romanized names. However, he argued his request could be permitted under subparagraph 11, which allows changes in “other cases where the Minister of Foreign Affairs deems it necessary to correct or change a name stated in the passport.”
The court rejected the argument, saying the plaintiff had admitted that the request was based not on practical inconvenience but on a personal preference for the spelling “Yi.” It concluded that cases involving no real-life inconvenience and only personal satisfaction cannot reasonably fall under the supplementary provision.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.
Source: Korea Times News
