South Korea’s electronic arrival card labeling Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” has sparked dissatisfaction from Taiwan, prompting Taiwan to take reciprocal measures and demand a response from South Korea by March 31. Scholars interviewed analyzed that this incident has escalated beyond an administrative labeling dispute, reflecting South Korea’s policy balancing between its relations with China, interactions with Taiwan, and its alliance with the United States, testing the future direction of Taiwan-Korea relations.
Between Taiwan and South Korea, what appeared to be a technical dispute over “entry field labeling” is rapidly escalating into a controversy affecting sovereignty awareness, diplomatic dignity, and regional geopolitics. South Korea’s electronic arrival declaration system continues to label Taiwan as “CHINA (TAIWAN)”. After multiple unsuccessful requests from Taiwan for correction, Taiwan has already changed the designation of “Korea” to “South Korea” on foreign resident ID cards for South Korean nationals since March 1 and has demanded a response from South Korea by March 31. If there is no positive resolution, Taiwan will take further corresponding measures on the electronic entry registration form.
In response to this, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it is well aware of the stance of Taiwan and is paying attention to it, with relevant departments continuing negotiations on the issue.
The core of this controversy that has surfaced lies in the electronic arrival declaration system (E-Arrival Card) that South Korea launched in February 2025. Taiwanese travelers discovered that the system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in both the “departure” and “next destination” fields. Similar designations have actually been present in South Korean residence permits and visas since 2004.
The Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that this labeling “not only contradicts the facts” but also causes confusion and inconvenience in the reporting by Taiwanese people. Therefore, since December 2025, Taiwan has repeatedly lodged strong protests to South Korea, but has not received a positive correction. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has personally stated that South Korea should “respect the will of the Taiwanese people.”
At the time, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded, “Considering multiple factors for deliberation. As this is not a new issue, we will handle this matter appropriately based on our fundamental position.” This was interpreted as maintaining the existing labeling and stance.
On March 19, Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu stated that they are currently awaiting a response from South Korea and continue to negotiate. He emphasized that Taiwan and South Korea have good exchanges in industries, tourism, culture, and other aspects. Taiwan’s position is to “uphold equality and dignity,” and hopes the South Korean government can address the will of the people.
He boldly stated that public opinion generally supports that “Taiwan is Taiwan” and believes that this negotiation “will have a certain effect.” According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announcement, South Korea currently uses both electronic arrival cards and paper arrival cards.
Chen Wen-jia, Vice President of National Chengchi University and a scholar in national security strategy, stated in an interview with Epoch Times that South Korea is most likely to adopt a compromise solution of “delayed processing and technical adjustments.” He speculated that Seoul may not necessarily openly admit the error but could make low-key corrections or administrative delays, or balance Taiwan-Korea relations with other goodwill measures while maintaining the current labeling.
Chen analyzed that this reflects South Korea’s need to consider its relations with China on one hand and maintain substantial exchanges with Taiwan on the other, strategically straddling between “avoiding stimulating China and maintaining Taiwan-Korea interactions.”
He also pointed out that Taiwan’s recent shift towards a tougher stance is “not a sudden reaction but a strategic shift accumulated from multiple factors.” From South Korea marking Taiwan as “CHINA (TAIWAN)” since 2025, negotiations have not seen substantial improvements, and what could initially be seen as a technical issue has gradually escalated into a political issue involving “national positioning and dignity.”
Taiwan insists on its status as an independent sovereign entity with a Constitution and democratically elected leaders. He said renaming “Korea” as “South Korea” is a form of institutional equal retaliation, also sending a clear signal internationally: Taiwan will take a more proactive and concrete counterattack in matters of naming and status in the future.
Chen Shi-min, a political science professor at National Taiwan University, warned that South Korea has almost never expressed opinions or comments on Taiwan Strait issues in the past and that only former President Yoon Suk-yeol from 2022 to 2024 repeatedly emphasized peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and opposed any unilateral use of force to change the status quo.
Regarding this dispute, Chen Shi-min tends to believe that it is the continuation of past practices within the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs that has led to this significant diplomatic setback between Taiwan and South Korea.
The sensitivity of this naming dispute still lies in Beijing’s long-term suppression of Taiwan’s international space. The Chinese Communist Party has always claimed sovereignty over Taiwan, and since South Korea cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan after establishing relations with China in 1992, although there is no formal diplomatic relationship between the two, they continue to maintain economic and trade relations. This means that whenever South Korea gets involved in Taiwan’s naming, positioning, and Taiwan Strait issues, they often face political dilemmas.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated on March 19 that they believe South Korea will handle it properly according to the “One China principle.” Yu Zong-ji believes that when the Beijing authorities once again define the Taiwan issue as China’s internal affairs, they are also openly pressuring Seoul’s ambiguous space.
After Japanese Prime Minister Kanai Sanae’s statement about “Taiwan Affairs” at the end of last year, the Chinese authorities subsequently imposed a series of sanctions on Japan, further intensifying regional political tensions. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung stated in early December at a foreign media conference that South Korea should not favor either side.
Yu Zong-ji, former dean of the National Defense University’s College of Political Warfare, believes that Lee Jae-myung follows a “consistent pro-China stance.”
However, Chen Shi-min offers an alternative observation: since Lee Jae-myung took office in May 2025, he still attaches great importance to the US-South Korea alliance; after US President Trump attended the APEC meeting in South Korea in November last year, the US-South Korea joint declaration eventually included the content of “valuing peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and opposing unilateral changes.” This indicates that Lee Jae-myung may not simply be categorized as leaning entirely towards Beijing but is more likely maneuvering between China and the US.
This makes how South Korea handles this case before March 31 a crucial observation point to assess South Korea’s policy orientation.
It is worth noting that while political tensions are escalating, Taiwan-South Korea economic and trade relations continue to deepen. According to official data, in 2024, Taiwan’s trade deficit with South Korea reached 22.9 billion US dollars, surpassing that with Japan’s 20.6 billion US dollars, making South Korea the largest source of trade deficit for Taiwan.
Chang Chih-cheng, CEO of the Technology, Democracy, and Society Research Center (DSET) in Taiwan, analyzed to BBC Chinese that the strong demand in the AI semiconductor market is a significant factor driving the deepening trade dependency between Taiwan and South Korea. Due to NVIDIA’s increased demand for advanced packaging from TSMC, Taiwan must import a large amount of HBM high-bandwidth memory produced in Korea to complete server assembly and supply globally.
Chang pointed out that in the past, South Korea’s perception of Taiwan in the industry leaned more towards competitors than cooperative partners, but cooperation in the semiconductor supply chain is gradually strengthening.
In conclusion, this incident, on the surface, appears to be about the language on electronic arrival cards, but in reality, it is a direct counterstrike by Taiwan after its external naming space has been compressed, and it is a countermeasure against China’s long-term infiltration of the international administrative system using the “One China principle.”