Rumors of ”Chinese people entering the country in droves without visas”... Ministry of Justice explains = South Korea

In South Korea, serious crimes committed by people entering the country without a visa are on the rise, and social unrest is growing. The Ministry of Justice is under criticism due to the "preferential treatment of Chinese people" controversy. The Ministry of Justice immediately issued an explanation and tried to settle the situation.
However, it is unclear whether this will be able to dispel the sense of unease. On the 19th, the Ministry of Justice announced that a post spreading on social media claiming that "a large number of Chinese people will enter the country without a visa starting in April" was "not true."
The post read, "The visa relaxation system for Chinese people will come into effect next month, expanding the number of skilled workers (E-7-4) visas from 2,000 to 35,000, and a large number of Chinese people will come to Japan."
The Ministry of Justice said, "The skilled worker visa is a visa given to non-professional workers (E-9) who have stayed in the country for more than four years and have a certain level of Korean language proficiency.
"In September 2023, the Ministry of Justice expanded the number of eligible applicants from 2,000 to 35,000, but this has nothing to do with visa-free entry and is limited to certain countries.
"There is no reason for this," the Ministry of Justice explained. Foreigners who enter the country without a visa can only stay for a short period of time, less than 90 days, under the tourist/transit (B-2) status.
It also revealed that as of the end of the month, of the 31,869 foreigners staying in China on skilled worker visas, only 78 people, or 0.2%, were Chinese nationals.
Nevertheless, the negative perception of visa-free entrants, including Chinese, is due to the
The cause of serious crimes is the number of foreigners who enter the country without a visa. The reality is reflected in the numbers. The case of Jeju Island, where many people enter the country without a visa, is proof of this. According to the Jeju National Police Agency, the major crimes committed by foreigners on Jeju Island last year were
The number of suspects in crimes was tentatively 608. Of these, 412 were Chinese, accounting for 60.6% of the total. Serious crimes are also on the rise. Last week alone, 230,000 people passed through Jeju International Airport.
Three foreigners were arrested and indicted for attempting to smuggle methamphetamine in quantities large enough for two people to use at the same time. The Jeju District Prosecutors' Office has charged three Indonesian
The three men, Mr. A (31), a Malaysian national, Ms. B (41, female), and Ms. C (22), a Filipino national, were arrested and indicted.
On November 15th of last year, Mr. A brought 2,072g of methamphetamine from Cambodia into the back of his travel bag.
He was arrested for trying to smuggle methamphetamine from Cambodia on February 23rd of this year, hiding it in small portions inside sheets, shoe soles, and snacks.
On February 24, Mr. C was caught trying to bring 2,944g of methamphetamine from Cambodia disguised as a stick-type coffee mix.
The total amount of Methamphetamine smuggled in these three cases reached 7,136g, which is equivalent to a single dose (0.03g) of the drug, enough for 230,000 people to use.
The prosecution said, "The illegal drug smugglers are taking advantage of Jeju's visa-free entry system to commit crimes in a planned manner," and added, "We will arrest and severely punish the defendants, and continue to investigate their accomplices."
"There are," he said.