Before applying to exchange a foreign driving licence for a Korean one, plan for two separate moments: whether Korea will accept your application, and how you could later retrieve the foreign original. The Korea Road Traffic Authority exchange guide routes the applicant to a driver-licence test center with the original foreign licence and supporting documents. Its cautions page says a licence held after exchange is returned only through specified circumstances. Do not schedule a trip on the assumption that both cards remain in your wallet.
Check the licence and country before collecting papers
The applicable test and document route depends on the issuing country or region, licence status, applicant category and proof of the licence’s authenticity. Start with the Authority’s current country classification, then read its licence-category cautions and corresponding document row: a learner or temporary licence is not automatically eligible. It distinguishes an original foreign licence from an International Driving Permit. The latter may matter for a short rental, but it is not the exchange application itself. If your immediate problem is paying for a rental car, the Lotte rental payment guide covers that separate counter transaction.
For the foreign-applicant route, the current guide lists the original passport, residence or domestic-residence card as applicable, recent photos, licence authentication by an embassy or apostille, and entry/exit history, along with the original licence. The center may ask for more evidence where the issue date, name or travel history does not align. Ask the test center which row applies to your issuing jurisdiction before paying for authentication or travel. A document checklist is not an approval decision.
Arrange the center visit around the actual application
The guide says the applicant normally applies in person at a driver-licence test center; ordinary proxy filing is not its route. Document review comes before any required medical or written test and issuance. Check the current center hours and whether the written test applies to your licence category and nationality. If a document is rejected, ask which exact field or authentication is missing instead of buying another translation at random.
Keep a copy of your application receipt and ask the center to confirm how it records the foreign original. This matters if you need that document for a later journey. Do not assume a photo of the surrendered card or the new Korean card will satisfy another country’s rules; confirm those requirements with the relevant authority before departure.
If you later need the foreign original
The Authority’s cautions describe return of a held foreign licence for overseas departure with evidence, cancellation of the Korean licence at the holder’s request, or a diplomatic-mission forwarding request. Those are distinct procedures. Contact the center that holds the licence, describe which circumstance applies, and ask what identification and departure or mission evidence it requires. Do this before the day you need the original.
This is a route to ask for return, not a promise of immediate collection, continued validity of either licence, or permission to drive in another country. The issuing and destination authorities decide those questions. For a person who only needs to drive a rental car during a short Korea visit, check the rental operator’s original-licence and permit requirements before starting a formal exchange.
Official Korea Road Traffic Authority exchange and cautions pages checked September 29, 2026 KST. No licence, test-center application or return request was submitted.