http://www.heritage.org/Research/NationalSecurity/bg1850.cfm#_ftnref33 South Korea have been unable to meet the criteria established by the VWP (Visa Waiver Program) For example, in the case of South Korea, U.S. Ambas-sador Christopher R. Hill and other American government representatives have said that the ROK cannot join the VWP until the number of illegal South Korean residents in the United States significantly declines.[33]
ROK(Republic of Korea)officials estimate that some 70,000 South Korean passports are lost or stolen each year and then traded on the black market, a factor that has impeded Seoul’s partici-pation in the VWP.[35]