'Lee' or 'Yi?' Korean court rejects passport surname spelling change

A South Korean court ruled that passport holders cannot change the Romanized spelling of their surname solely based on personal preferences if there is no practical inconvenience in daily life. According to legal sources on Monday, the Seoul Administrative Court ruled against the 36-year-old plaintiff surnamed Lee in a lawsuit filed against the foreign minister to overturn the government’s refusal to change the spelling of his passport surname from “LEE” to “YI.” Lee filed a suit after his request to change the Romanized spelling of his surname on his passport was rejected. He argued that he had long used the spelling “YI” since childhood, including in financial transactions, English ability tests and company ID cards, and that his passport spelling should reflect the same spelling. The plaintiff also claimed that when he applied for the passport, he spelled his surname “YI,” but a government official changed it to “LEE” before issuing the document. He said he requested his name to be spelled “YI” when he applied for the passport a second time, but was told theWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times