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Korean police don't issue passports. A replacement passport or emergency travel document comes from the government that issued your passport, through the process that government publishes for Seoul. Police matter when there's a crime or a safety problem: the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office lists South Korea's police number as 112. If you've only misplaced the passport, retrace your steps and check your bags and the shops you visited first. Then, once you're confident it's gone, switch to your issuing country's travel-document process before continuing the trip.

Who does what after a passport loss in Seoul

The FCDO South Korea getting help page (retrieved 2026-11-03) lists police 112 and ambulance and fire 119. The same page treats consular assistance as a separate, nationality-specific service. The FCDO services it describes apply to British people. They don't extend to every visitor.

Here is a suggested split of roles, based on those sources:

  • Korean police (112): theft, or a situation where you feel unsafe. A passport you simply can't find is a different case; check thoroughly before treating it as lost.
  • Your issuing government or its embassy: the replacement passport or emergency document, and the eligibility rules for it.
  • Your airline, any transit country and your destination: whether they accept the document you receive.

If you hold neither a UK nor a Singapore passport, look up your own country's embassy or foreign ministry guidance for Seoul and follow it.

The UK route: emergency travel document

This section applies to British nationals only. According to the British Embassy Seoul page (retrieved 2026-11-03), a British national abroad whose passport is lost, stolen, damaged or expired can apply online for an emergency travel document when a replacement passport can't be obtained in time.

Three conditions change the route:

  • For a child under 16, a parent or guardian applies.
  • If your travel is more than 3 weeks away, a replacement passport may be possible instead.
  • Your citizenship and previous passport status can change which application you need.

The page gives no universal processing time, and appointment availability isn't promised. Treat any turnaround as unknown until the issuing office tells you.

The Singapore route: ICA report and Document of Identity

This section applies to Singapore citizens only. The Singapore Embassy in Seoul (retrieved 2026-11-03) directs citizens who lose a passport in Korea to report the loss to ICA online using SingPass and to apply for a Document of Identity (DOI) for the return to Singapore.

Confirm the passport is lost before you report it. The embassy guidance treats a reported passport as cancelled, and that cancellation can't be reversed, so a passport found later stays cancelled.

The DOI is valid only for travel back to Singapore. It can't be used to enter a third country. If your itinerary includes another destination before home, that leg needs replanning with the authorities.

Planning the rest of the day and trip

The steps below are a suggested way to organise yourself. Governments don't list them as requirements.

  1. Write down when and where you last had the passport.
  2. Gather identity and travel records you still hold: other ID, booking confirmations, your next travel date.
  3. Keep every application reference number your issuing authority gives you.
  4. Ask your airline, and any transit and destination country, whether they'll accept the replacement document for your route and date.
  5. Keep any photocopy or phone photo of the passport for your application paperwork. A copy doesn't replace the passport at a border.

If you planned to keep shopping, consider pausing until the document process is underway. If you later pass through Myeongdong or Seongsu and want a general conversation with a pharmacist about health or everyday products, PVRE Pharmacy, listed as PURE PHARMACY, shows stores at 서울특별시 중구 명동8길 41 (Myeongdong) and 서울특별시 성동구 성수이로20길 3 (Seongsu). Passport, airline and immigration questions belong with the authorities above.

Evidence and criteria

  • South Korea emergency numbers police 112 and ambulance/fire 119, with consular assistance described as separate and nationality-specific: FCDO South Korea getting help, retrieved 2026-11-03.
  • UK emergency travel document, online application, under-16 guardian rule, 3-week replacement-passport threshold and citizenship-status variations: British Embassy Seoul, retrieved 2026-11-03. British nationals only.
  • ICA online report via SingPass, irreversible cancellation once reported, and a Document of Identity limited to return to Singapore with no third-country travel: Singapore Embassy Seoul, retrieved 2026-11-03. Singapore citizens only.
  • Store names and addresses: PURE PHARMACY official stores page, retrieved 2026-11-03. That page lists locations and pharmacist conversation in general terms; it shows no hours, stock or travel services.
  • The government sources above give no guaranteed processing times, appointments or acceptance by airlines, transit countries or destinations.