The policy has been put in place since June 2023 in a bid to attract tourists from the three countries. It requires that a group comprises at least three tourists instead of five as previously stated.  

Thanks to the effectiveness of the new policy, the number of group visitors entering the RoK from Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia doubled last year to 47,397.

Notably, the number of group visitors from the three countries to the RoK in the first five months of this year reached 56,427, maintaining an upward trend.

However, the RoK’s Ministry of Justice also pointed out that there are still cases of people staying illegally in the country to look for a job.

Therefore, the ministry will consider whether to officially implement the mentioned-above policy in the future.

Group tourist visa is a type of visa with simplified procedures of application and appraisal process.