Korea, U.S. sign accord on criminal data exchanges

SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the U.S. signed an accord on exchanging
criminal records of visitors to each other's country on Friday, ahead of South
Korea's inclusion into the U.S. visa waiver program slated to take effect on Nov.
17, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said Sunday.
The accord on criminal data exchange was signed by South Korean ambassador to the
U.S. Lee Tae-sik and Paul Schneider, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security in a ceremony in Washington, said the ministry.
The agreement calls for the two sides to share personal information on those who
have received a more than one-year jail term for such grave crimes as murder,
rape, robbery, deception, arson and human trafficking.
The ministry said it will ask the National Assembly to ratify the accord later
this week.