Gyeonggi Province Requests Additional Passport Issuance Facilities

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 9th that it has requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs add more passport issuance facilities, as complaints have surged due to delays in passport processing.

While Gyeonggi Province's population currently reaches 11 million, there are only four passport issuance facilities in the province: in Suwon, Uijeongbu, Seongnam, and Goyang.

Particularly in the southern Gyeonggi region, with a population of 8.1 million, there are only two passport issuance facilities, leading to continued complaints about passport processing delays.

Taking into account that 10 districts in Seoul where passport issuance facilities exist have a population of 4.33 million, the province's position is that Gyeonggi Province is critically short of passport issuance facilities.

Due to this situation, residents are lining up from 4 a.m. to receive receipt numbers for passports, but even the number tickets issued from 6 a.m. run out within an hour, with residents' frustration mounting.

As a result, residents in the Anyang area (Anyang, Gunpo, Uiwang, Gwacheon) are mainly traveling to Guro and Yeongdeungpo districts in Seoul, while residents in the Pyeongtaek area (Pyeongtaek, Anseong) are traveling to Cheongju in North Chungcheong or Daejeon for "pilgrim-style" passport issuance, compounding inconveniences.

Accordingly, the province believes that at least one additional passport issuance facility is necessary in the Anyang and Pyeongtaek areas, where passport demand is expected to continue increasing due to new city development and industrial complex creation.

A provincial official stated, "Gyeonggi Province has a much larger population than Seoul but paradoxically has fewer passport issuance facilities, leading to persistent complaints," adding that "designating additional passport issuance facilities by region is the solution."