Priority immigration lanes for Foreign Business Travelers at Incheon Airport

□ Priority immigration lanes to open on August 31 for foreign business travelers

□ Waiting times are expected to drop sharply for Foreign Business Travelers at Incheon Airport

Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC) announced that from August 31, a priority immigration lane will be operated for foreign business travelers entering Incheon Airport.

This initiative aims to reduce the waiting times for foreign business travelers and was introduced as a follow-up measure to a request made at the economic organizations and business leaders meeting chaired by the President on June 13, 2025.

* Currently, Korean nationals using automated immigration kiosks spend an average of about 2 minutes, whereas foreign nationals using manned counters face delays of 24–35 minutes on average, causing significant inconvenience.

In response, the government (Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport), after consultations with related agencies and business associations, introduced a streamlined process. Under the new process, foreign business travelers recommended by domestic business associations* will be able to use priority immigration lanes for faster entry.

* The Federation of Korean Industries, Federation of Middle Market Enterprises of Korea, Korea Enterprises Federation, Korea International Trade Association, American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, and European Chamber of Commerce in Korea

The government will run the program at Incheon Airport on a trial basis until December 2025, after which it will consider expanding the initiative to other domestic airports. In the medium to long term, plans are underway to upgrade the immigration system so that foreign nationals can also use automated kiosks.

Hag-jae Lee, President and CEO of IIAC stated that “With the implementation of this new government policy, we expect foreign business travelers to experience greater convenience when using Incheon Airport. We will continue to actively improve passenger convenience in line with government policies.”