The number of foreigners who entered Jeju Special Self-Governing Province without a visa and remained in South Korea illegally is approaching 12,000, while the Korea Coast Guard has caught fewer than 100 of them over the past five years.
Foreigners overstaying after visa-free entry to Jeju numbered close to 12,000 as of August this year, according to the Korea Coast Guard on the 12th. The figure rose from about 8,500 in 2022 to more than 10,000 in 2023 and has continued to climb.
Chinese nationals account for 85% of the total, the largest share. The number of Chinese nationals entering Jeju under the visa-free program surged from 301,768 in 2023 to 738,956 in 2024, a nearly 2.5-fold increase in a single year. Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Mongolia follow.
The problem is enforcement. Over the past five years, the Coast Guard caught fewer than 100 people leaving the island without authorization, and even in the year with the most arrests the apprehension rate did not exceed 0.4%. That amounts to catching one in every 250 overstayers.
The Coast Guard said its enforcement staff of about 130 is not sufficient and that it would work to operate more efficiently and add personnel.
Hiding in Truck Cargo Beds and Fishing Boats as Escape Tactics Grow Bolder
The methods used to slip off the island are becoming increasingly brazen. Some were caught trying to reach the mainland hidden aboard passenger ferries, while three Chinese nationals were found among stacked delivery boxes in the cargo bed of a truck. Others hid in corners of fishing boats or posed as crew members.
In August this year, the Coast Guard arrested recruiters working with domestic brokers who had been running an organized smuggling route using cargo trucks and freighters. On the 22nd of last month, 18 overstayers who were about to be put to work handling fishing nets at Jeju Port's No. 2 wharf were caught in a predawn sweep.
Critics say that before the movement of visa-free arrivals in Jeju is expanded nationwide, identity verification, tracking of travel routes and clear lines of responsibility for departures from the island must be established, given that the management of existing overstayers remains unresolved. Rep. Kim Sun-kyo of the People Power Party said public anxiety over overstayers disappearing into other parts of the country is considerable, and called for preemptive enforcement and management measures.
An analysis of Ministry of Justice data by the Immigration Policy Research Institute found that 43% of all overstayers originally entered without a visa, prompting calls for urgent improvements to immigration control policy across visa-free entry programs.