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The Justice Ministry on Thursday said it will exempt such foreigners from the five-year mandatory residency and the naturalization test, the two requirements to become Korean citizens. Under the new policy aimed at luring talent from abroad, such foreigners will be subject to a special naturalization process if it is in the national interest that they acquire Korean citizenship.

Once naturalized under this special category, such foreigners can maintain their original citizenship while living here as Korean citizens. The ministry will submit a revision of the Nationality Law to the National Assembly in June, and the new law will come into effect in 2011 at the latest.

Meanwhile, the ministry will tell holders of dual citizenship to choose one when they reach a certain age. They will be given a full year to make up their mind.

Under the current policy, Koreans who won dual citizenship before the age of 20 have to choose one by the time they are 22, and those who obtained dual citizenship later have to choose citizenship within two years. There were 51,559 dual citizenship holders in Korea as of last December.

(englishnews@chosun.com )