[Anchor]
There is a visa waiver program that allows foreign nationals to stay on Jeju Island for up to 30 days without a visa. Designed to boost the tourism industry, the system is increasingly being exploited. It is believed that foreigners are taking ferry boats from Jeju to secretly slip into other mainland cities and become illegal residents. The problem is that the detection rate is less than 1 percent.
Our exclusive report by Kwon Min-kyu.
[Reporter]
As the doors of a ferry arriving in Mokpo from Jeju open and travelers rush out, people who appear to be officials sprint over and detain several individuals.
This was the moment when the Korea Coast Guard apprehended five Vietnamese nationals who entered Jeju without a visa and attempted to sneak onto the mainland by hiding on board a ferry.
Next, when the cargo bed of a delivery truck is opened, three Chinese nationals emerge from a stack of parcels.
[Get down! Get down one by one! One by one!]
This is another case of individuals who entered Jeju using the visa waiver program and were caught trying to cross over to the mainland covertly.
[Korea Coast Guard: (They sometimes hide) in secluded corners of the (fishing boat) or blend in as if they are crew members.]
Foreigners staying illegally by abusing Jeju's visa waiver entry system have increased every year, surpassing 10,000 back in 2023, and reaching nearly 12,000 by August of this year.
By nationality, Chinese nationals accounted for the vast majority, followed by those from Southeast Asian countries.
[Koh Geun-pyo / Chief of Foreign Affairs Section, Jeju Coast Guard Station: They used various methods, such as hiding inside iceboxes, secret spaces blocked by wooden panels, and piles of agricultural packaging boxes.]
While more than 10,000 undocumented immigrants find ways to escape Jeju and hide across the country, the Coast Guard has caught fewer than 100 over the past five years.
Even in the year with the highest number of arrests, the apprehension rate did not exceed 0.4%.
[Kim Sun-kyo / Member of the National Assembly Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee (People Power Party): Due to illegal foreign residents hiding across the country, our citizens have deep concerns. Measures to preemptively crack down and manage them are needed.]
The Coast Guard told SBS reporting staff, "While our enforcement personnel of around 130 is not quite sufficient, we will strive for efficient operations and work toward increasing manpower."
[Anchor]
Reporter Kwon Min-kyu, who covered this story, is here with us in the studio.
Q. What is the Jeju visa-free entry system?
[Reporter Kwon Min-kyu: Yes, it was introduced back in 2002 to boost Jeju Island's tourism industry. To enter through the visa waiver program and move over to the mainland, individuals must obtain separate permission to extend their stay from the Ministry of Justice, which manages immigration. However, as you saw earlier, an increasing trend of foreigners are hiding on passenger vessels and other transport to reach the mainland and stay illegally for long periods. For reference, when entering South Korea through cities other than Jeju, foreigners whose visa-free entry is restricted, such as Chinese nationals, must obtain at least a short-term visit visa valid for 90 days.]
Q. What about crimes related to illegal residents?
[Reporter Kwon Min-kyu: That's right. Back in April, there was a case where two Chinese nationals who entered without a visa stole bags and cash from a traditional market in Jeju and were caught. Last year, a broker in his 50s who transported a Vietnamese woman without a visa out of Jeju Island was sentenced to prison with a suspended sentence. Fundamentally, the very act of foreigners who entered without a visa leaving Jeju Island constitutes a crime, punishable by up to 3 years in prison, while brokers who assist in the escape can face up to 7 years in prison.]
Q. Rising number of undocumented immigrants.. What are the countermeasures?
[Reporter Kwon Min-kyu: Yes, when we directly asked the Ministry of Justice, they replied, "There is no separate monitoring system to track foreigners whose permitted stay is about to expire." As the number of illegal residents abusing the system grows, a national petition on the National Assembly website calling for the abolition of Jeju's visa-free entry system has surpassed 60,000 signatures. Consequently, it has been referred to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. However, since completely opposing stances coexist—arguing that the system should be expanded further to promote tourism, or that regulations should be modified to allow foreigners to travel up to the mainland—the controversy is expected to continue for a while.]
(Photo: Yonhap News)
(Video reporting: Kim Hak-mo, Lee Seung-hwan | Video editing: Kim Jun-hee | Design: Park Tae-young | Photo courtesy of Representative Kim Sun-kyo's office)
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