KR
South Korea
Recent reports of entry without significant problems.
Based on 8 reports. Score 0.95 on a scale from −1 (always refused) to +1 (always admitted), with recent reports counting most. How scoring works
What to expect
Seven of the eight reports on file, dated from 2024 through 2026, describe entry with no issue, including three cruise arrivals and two by air with no secondary inspection.1–7 Two travelers said no advance notification had been sent from the US, and one suggested air arrivals may differ when a notification is sent.35 The one negative account is from 2018, when an airline refused a boarding pass because South Korea would not permit transit through Incheon.8
Written by an AI model from the reports below on September 19, 2026. The numbers link to the reports each sentence is based on. Read those before you decide.
Officers may refuse entry on character grounds
South Korea's Minister of Justice may refuse entry to anyone deemed highly likely to harm public security or to disturb social order or good morals. The law sets no conviction threshold and does not mention sex offences, so refusal is discretionary.
Immigration Act (Act No. 10282 as amended), Art. 11(1) subparas. 3, 4 and 8 · discretionary
- Immigration Act (English translation) · Korea Legislation Research Institute (elaw.klri.re.kr)
Common questions
Can registered sex offenders enter South Korea?
It's rated Open: Recent reports of entry without significant problems. Of 4 trips reported in the last two years by people on a US registry, 4 ended in entry and 0 in refusal. South Korea's Minister of Justice may refuse entry to anyone deemed highly likely to harm public security or to disturb social order or good morals. The law sets no conviction threshold and does not mention sex offences, so refusal is discretionary.
Do South Korea's border officers know about US registrants in advance?
None of the reports on file describe officers appearing to know in advance.
How do travelers usually arrive in South Korea?
Reports on file describe 2 by sea or cruise. Outcomes can differ by how travelers arrive; each report below says which.
- 1Aug 2026 (reported)
Admitted, no issues · By sea or cruise, Busan (cruise port)
The traveler visited a South Korean port on a cruise ship two years earlier and went ashore with no issues.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand
- 2May 2026 (reported)
Admitted, no issues · By air
During an eight-month multi-country trip, the traveler entered with no stops or secondary inspection.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand · Former registrant
- 3Apr 2026 (reported)
Admitted, no issues
The traveler entered without issue, noting that no advance notification had been sent from the US.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand
- 4Mar 2025 (reported)
Admitted, no issues
The traveler reported entering the country without any problems during trips taken in 2023 and 2024; no officials questioned or detained them, and airline staff raised no issues.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand
- 5Oct 2024 (reported)
Admitted, no issues · By sea or cruise
The traveler entered South Korea as a cruise ship passenger with no problem, and noted that arriving by air may differ depending on whether a notification is sent.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand
- 6Feb 2024
Admitted, no issues · By sea or cruise
No visa was required; the traveler's passport was scanned at immigration with no issues.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Firsthand · Former registrant
- 7Feb 2024
Admitted, no issues · By air
A commenter described a traveler who is off the registry entering South Korea during a multi-country Asia trip without difficulty, arriving from a third country.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · archived copy · Forum post · Secondhand · Former registrant
- 82018
Not allowed to board · Changing planes, Departure airport in Vietnam; connection would have been Incheon
When flying home from Vietnam, the airline refused to issue a boarding pass because South Korea would not permit the traveler to transit through Incheon; the traveler had to rebook via Taipei instead.
ACSOL (Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws) · Forum post · Firsthand
- 9By 2022
Refused entry
Row from the RTAG Travel Matrix, an undated summary last maintained around 2021.
- Registrants turned away
- Yes
- Law bars sex offenders
- No
- Law bars people with felonies
- No
- Has its own offender registry
- Yes
Registrant Travel Action Group (RTAG) · Legacy matrix · Summary