All Six Chinese Nationals Who Illegally Entered Jeju by Inflatable Boat Apprehended

Hid in a cargo truck to escape Jeju by ship
Tracked down and arrested in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province

On September 12, one of the Chinese nationals who had illegally entered Jeju Island by inflatable boat from China and had not yet been apprehended was arrested in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. With this arrest, all six Chinese nationals who entered the country illegally have now been captured.

The Jeju Coast Guard announced that on this day, they had urgently arrested a Chinese man in his 30s, referred to as Mr. A, on suspicion of violating the Immigration Control Act. Mr. A is accused of illegally entering the country at dawn on September 8 by taking an inflatable boat equipped with a 90-horsepower engine from Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, southeastern China, together with five other Chinese nationals, and landing at the coastal area of Yongsu-ri, Hangyeong-myeon, Jeju City.

On the morning of the 8th, the Coast Guard and police lifted an inflatable boat, which was used by Chinese nationals, from the coastal area of Yongsu-ri, Hangyeong-myeon, Jeju City. Photo by Yonhap News

During their investigation, the Coast Guard confirmed that Mr. A had moved to another region. After identifying his location, they arrested him in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, at around 1 p.m. on September 12 and are currently escorting him back to Jeju. According to the investigation, Mr. A escaped Jeju by hiding in a cargo truck loaded onto a cargo ship bound for another area. As a result, the Coast Guard also detained the truck driver, a Korean man in his 50s, at Jeju Port at around 6:40 a.m. the same day for questioning.

Departed from Jiangsu, China with six people on September 7

Their illegal entry was discovered at 7:56 a.m. on September 8, when the police received a report that there was an "unidentified inflatable boat" at the coastal area of Yongsu-ri, Hangyeong-myeon, Jeju City. When the boat was found by a local resident, there were no passengers on board, but it was equipped with a 90-horsepower outboard motor and an electric propulsion device. In addition, the boat was found to be carrying a large amount of fuel: nine 20-liter (green) fuel containers, and one each of 55-liter and 25-liter (red) containers, raising the possibility of a long-distance voyage. The inflatable boat was recovered after an on-site investigation.

The other five Chinese nationals (four men and one woman) who entered illegally with Mr. A had already been apprehended, as well as two Chinese female accomplices who assisted them in Jeju.

The Coast Guard obtained statements from the suspects that they did not know each other prior to the incident, paid several million won each to a Chinese broker to earn money, and dispersed after entering the country illegally.