Charged with violating the Immigration Control Act
Statement: "Six people entered illegally by inflatable boat"
Police are tracking down the remaining Chinese nationals
A Chinese national who illegally entered the country by crossing the coast of Jeju on an inflatable boat has been apprehended.
Officials from the Coast Guard and police are attempting to investigate and salvage an unidentified boat discovered on the morning of the 8th along the coast of Yongsu-ri, Hangyeong-myeon, Jeju City. Photo by Yonhap News
On September 9, the Jeju Western Police Station announced that at around 6:30 p.m. the previous day, they arrested a Chinese man in his 40s, identified as Mr. A, at a motel in Seogwipo City on charges of violating the Immigration Control Act.
According to the police investigation, Mr. A departed from Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, in southeastern China, on the afternoon of September 7 aboard an inflatable boat equipped with a 90-horsepower engine. He illegally entered Korea via the coast of Yongsu-ri, Hangyeong-myeon, Jeju City, in the early morning of September 8. The straight-line distance from Nantong City to Jeju Island is approximately 460 kilometers by inflatable boat.
Mr. A previously entered Jeju Island without a visa in October 2017 and remained as an illegal resident before voluntarily reporting himself and being deported on January 18, 2024.
It has been reported that Mr. A stated that a total of six Chinese nationals, including himself, illegally entered the country on the inflatable boat in order to earn money.
The police and the Coast Guard are investigating Mr. A to determine the exact circumstances of the illegal entry and are tracking down the remaining Chinese nationals.
The Jeju Coast Guard received a report from a resident at 7:56 a.m. the previous day that an unidentified inflatable boat had been found near the women divers' changing room in Yongsu-ri, Hangyeong-myeon, Jeju City. At the scene, the police confirmed that the inflatable boat with a 90-horsepower engine contained 12 fuel containers of various sizes, 6 life jackets, emergency food including bread with Chinese writing on the packaging, and fishing rods.
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