SEOUL - SOUTH Korea plans to start fingerprinting and photographing foreign tourists from 2010, joining a handful of countries who already do so, including the United States and Japan, officials said on Monday.

The plan was included in a policy briefing by Justice Minister Kim Kyung-Han to President Lee Myung-bak on Monday, a ministry spokesman said. A bill will be submitted to parliament next year.

Seoul previously took fingerprints only of foreigners intending to stay for more than a year, but this requirement was abolished in 2003.

The spokesman said the ministry would also fingerprint foreign residents who have been here since 2003, adding that the aim was to prevent crimes by foreigners and to fight terrorism.

At the same time, the government is striving to boost the tourism industry.

In October it declared 2010 to 2012 as 'Visit Korea' years, seeking to attract 10 million foreign tourists a year and earn US$10 billion (S$14.4 billion) in foreign currency revenue in the first year of the nationwide drive.

A total of 6.45 million foreign tourists visited the nation in 2007 and spent US$5.8 billion.

A spokesman for the Korea National Tourism Organisation said the fingerprinting plan, if approved, was expected to have some impact on visitor numbers. 'But the impact will not be so big.' -- AFP