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Koreans living abroad will no longer need to fly back to Korea to update their driving credentials, as overseas embassies and consulates begin processing Class 1 driver’s license renewals and issuing international driving permits, the government said Monday.

The service begins Monday at 188 diplomatic missions, according to the Overseas Koreans Agency, the Korean National Police Agency and the Korea Road Traffic Authority (KoROAD).

Korea has two ordinary license classes. A Class 1 license covers larger vehicles, such as trucks of up to 12 tons. A Class 2 license is mainly for passenger cars.

Diplomatic missions have handled driver’s license paperwork since 2013. Until now, they could only renew Class 2 licenses and reissue lost or damaged ones, because Class 1 renewals require an aptitude test that includes an eye exam.

Under the new system, Class 1 licenses will be renewed in Korea if the applicant has a domestic health checkup or physical exam on record from the past two years. The license is then sent to the mission for pickup. Applicants with no such record cannot get a license through the service.

International driving permits applied for at a mission will also be issued in Korea and sent to the mission for pickup abroad.

Applicants should check eligibility requirements and documents on the Government for Overseas Koreans portal or KoROAD’s licensing site. Requirements vary by service.

The change follows a survey of overseas Koreans’ complaints about public services, which the agency carried out in January and February.

“This service is a leading example of resolving complaints through cooperation among related agencies, based on the results of the survey,” Overseas Koreans Agency Commissioner Kim Kyung-hyup said.

Acting Police Commissioner Kim Jong-cheol said the change is significant because it fixes an inconvenience that overseas Koreans raised directly. Without it, they would have had to return home or use a proxy.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.