Taipei: Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has announced the suspension of planned retaliatory measures against South Korea following Seoul’s decision to update its e-arrival system. These measures were initially set to be enforced on Wednesday.

According to Focus Taiwan, the intended actions were in response to Taiwan’s decision to alter South Korea’s designation on government-issued alien resident certificates (ARCs) held by South Korean nationals. This change, effective from March 1, altered the official designation from “Republic of Korea” to “South Korea.” This move followed months of protests directed at Seoul regarding its listing of Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in dropdown menus of its newly implemented online immigration entry system.

MOFA had previously stated that without a positive response from South Korea before the March 31 deadline, Taiwan would adjust its own online immigration entry system. The planned revision would have changed the designation from “Korea, Republic of” to “KOREA (SOUTH).”

During a weekly briefing, MOFA spokesman Hsiao Kuangwei revealed that South Korea had informed Taipei of its intention to update the e-arrival system to facilitate international travel. However, Hsiao noted that South Korea did not specify whether the update would address Taiwan’s designation concerns or provide a timeline for the change. “Given the fact that we have clearly expressed our demand, we expect that the Korean side can give an appropriate response,” Hsiao stated.

The controversy began with the introduction of South Korea’s new online immigration entry system on February 24, 2025, which replaced paper landing cards and listed Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in dropdown menus. Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung acknowledged South Korea’s previous goodwill gesture of delaying the phaseout of paper arrival cards, initially scheduled for February this year. Nonetheless, Taiwan insists that Seoul should promptly revise the listing in its e-arrival system to “Taiwan.”