The Seoul Administrative Court has ruled that the English spelling of names on South Korean passports cannot be easily changed.
The court ruled against the plaintiff surnamed Oh, who filed a complaint against an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to change the English spelling of his name on his passport.
Oh wanted to change a "U" to "EO" based on South Korea's romanization system.
The judge said the change is not required as the spelling is not a gross misinterpretation of the Korean pronunciation.
A Passport Act ordinance says passports with an English spelling that does not reflect the Korean pronunciation are to be changed.
[저작권자(c) YTN 무단전재, 재배포 및 AI 데이터 활용 금지]