The Korean Embassy in Manila on Friday announced that individuals applying for Korean visas are no longer allowed to cancel their appointments.

In a statement, the Embassy said the cancel button on their online platform has been inactivated after it detected numerous fraudulent activities.

“[B]rokers reserved fraudulent appointments and sold their appointment slots to someone in need by canceling their appointments on pre-coordinated dates and times,” it said.

For individuals who need to cancel appointments due to unexpected reasons, the Embassy advised writing “Reservation Cancellation” in the field of Notes at the Check reservation tab.

The Embassy warned that applicants who miss their appointments without requesting cancellation will be blacklisted.

“Please note that due to a high volume of applications and consular staffing shortages, waiting period for visa appointments is much longer than pre-pandemic times. Therefore, please be reminded that you MUST BOOK your flights AFTER securing a visa,“ it further said.