Songpa-gu Tops Seoul in Passport Issuance — but Photo Rejection Rate Hits 12.8%

Songpa-gu is stepping up its passport photo guidance ahead of the summer vacation season, aiming to reduce the growing number of applications rejected over non-compliant photos.

The district issues more passports than any other autonomous district in Seoul, and the volume of applications has brought a steady rise in rejections tied to photo standards. The rejection rate climbed from 7.3 percent in 2023 to 8.9 percent last year, and had already reached 12.8 percent as of April this year.

District officials said the vast majority of rejections stem from photos that fail to meet specification requirements. To get ahead of the seasonal surge, the district said it would overhaul its advance guidance system to catch errors at the point of photography and cut down on unnecessary repeat visits.

As a first step, the district will mail passport photo specification guides to all 111 photo studios operating in the area.

Alongside this, staff will make in-person visits to six studios — those near the district office with high foot traffic and those with a recurring record of non-compliant submissions — to provide tailored on-site guidance.

The on-site sessions will focus on the most common problems seen at passport application counters: head length (crown to chin) falling outside the required 3.2–3.6 centimeter range, glare from glasses or reflected light in the eyes, excessive digital retouching that alters the applicant's appearance, and hair or other elements obscuring eyebrows or facial contours.

The district has also tightened guidance for self-service photo kiosks. Fixed lighting and shooting conditions make it harder to meet specifications, so the district has attached QR codes linking to the official passport photo standards on self-service machines at major subway stations including Jamsil Station, allowing residents to check the requirements before they shoot.

Inside the district office, a "self-check zone" using the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' passport photo specification banner has been set up at the civil affairs counter. Citizen service assistants and counter staff will work in tandem to catch non-compliant photos before they reach the submission stage.

The district is also expanding its advance notification efforts through its website, social media channels, KakaoTalk and leaflets distributed at community centers.

Songpa-gu scored 97.73 out of 100 in last year's Ministry of Foreign Affairs performance evaluation of passport service agencies, placing it among the top-ranked institutions. In a separate customer satisfaction survey for passport services, it recorded 6.5 out of 7, posting high marks across all categories including processing efficiency, staff responsiveness and facility convenience.