Dongdaemun-gu, Nation's First Passport Secure Disposal Service

Expired Passport Returns to Be Disposed... Effective in Preventing Personal Information Leakage

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yu Deok-yeol) will implement the Passport Secure Disposal Service, which collects and disposes of expired passports, nationwide for the first time starting in August.

Discussion on the Passport Secure Disposal Service began following a proposal submitted by a resident through the National Petition System on July 10.

The proposal stated that expired passports are no longer valid as identification and pose a risk of personal information leakage if lost, so the district office should accept and dispose of them.

The district gathered free opinions on the Passport Secure Disposal Service for two weeks through the online policy communication platform "National Thinking Box," operated by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.

More than 90% of the collected opinions were positive about introducing the service, leading the district to implement the Passport Secure Disposal Service nationwide for the first time.

The service targets ▲ passports voluntarily returned upon reissuance and ▲ expired passports personally held by individuals.

Electronic passports will be sent to the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation for disposal, while printed and sticker-type passports will be disposed of internally (by shredding or incineration).

Civil petitioners wishing to use the Passport Secure Disposal Service can visit the Civil Affairs Passport Division at Dongdaemun-gu Office from August, regardless of their address, bringing their ID and the passport to be disposed of to apply.

A district official stated, “This service allows the disposal of expired passports, improving passport management efficiency and preventing personal information leakage.”

Similarly, the district will review additional proposals submitted through the National Petition System and introduce a "Passport Reception Reservation System" in the second half of this year.

This system will reduce waiting times for civil petitions through prior reservations and is expected to enhance resident satisfaction alongside the Passport Secure Disposal Service.

Yu Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, said, “The Passport Secure Disposal Service is significant as it was decided as a policy through online discussions based on a resident proposal submitted via the National Petition System. We hope residents freely share their opinions so their thoughts can be actively reflected in policies, and we will continue to do our best to provide services that satisfy our residents.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.