Gangster Tattoos and Feces Terror... Are These All From These People? Over 10,000 Illegal Chinese Residents in Jeju

93% of Illegal Immigrants in Jeju Island Are Chinese

The number of Chinese nationals who entered Jeju under the visa-free (visa exemption) program and became illegal residents has exceeded 10,000.

According to the Ministry of Justice on the 23rd, the number of illegal residents who entered Jeju under the visa-free program reached 11,191 as of the end of June this year. This is a 3.4% (365 people) increase from 10,826 last year. It is also a 30.6% (2,622 people) increase compared to 8,569 in 2022, when the number of illegal residents decreased due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

In particular, Chinese nationals illegally residing in Jeju accounted for the majority with 10,412 people (93%). They were followed by Vietnam with 326 people (2.9%), Indonesia with 291 people (2.6%), the Philippines with 239 people (2.1%), Mongolia with 133 people (1.2%), Cambodia with 31 people (0.3%), and Laos with 28 people (0.3%).

Jeju operates a visa-free entry system for foreigners from 111 countries under the Jeju Special Act. The visa-free system allows foreigners to enter without a visa in exceptional cases while carrying a passport and visa. Those who enter Jeju under the visa-free program can stay for up to 30 days but are restricted from moving to other parts of Korea after entry.

However, there are quite a few who abuse the visa-free system. In fact, in July, a Vietnamese national and a broker organization attempting unauthorized departure by abusing Jeju’s visa-free system were caught by the police. The domestic broker organization planned the crime with Vietnamese brokers and recruited those attempting illegal entry through social networking services (SNS) targeting Vietnamese nationals who entered under the visa-free program. They helped foreigners hide in truck cargo compartments and load them onto ships to leave Jeju. It was investigated that they received up to 3 million KRW per person, totaling about 50 million KRW over five transactions.

Meanwhile, there was also a Chinese national who stole precious metals worth about 100 million KRW while illegally residing in Jeju and fled to China. This Chinese national entered Jeju under the visa-free program and is suspected of stealing over 70 pieces of precious metals from a jewelry store in Yeondong, Jeju City, in the early morning of May 7. It was investigated that he cut the security device and broke the back door of the jewelry store with a hammer to break in. After the crime, he was confirmed to have left Jeju on a flight to Shanghai from Jeju Airport.

On the other hand, recently, nuisance behaviors by Chinese tourists in Jeju have also been repeatedly observed, causing public outrage. Earlier this month, a photo was released showing a man with "gangster tattoos" all over his body walking shirtless in "Beijing bikini" attire at Jeju night market. In July, people were outraged after seeing someone smoking and carelessly discarding cigarette butts at Seongsan Ilchulbong, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. Also, in June, a child defecated next to a roadside tree, and the child's mother neither stopped the child nor cleaned up afterward.