VISA-FREE ENTRY TO JEJUDO TOUGHENED

[Anchor Lead]

Now that visa-free entry has been resumed on Jejudo Island, foreign tourists are flocking to the island again. But some of them take advantage of it to stay in Korea illegally. Authorities are stepping up entry procedures to the dismay of the local tourism sector.

[Pkg]

An airplane arrives at the Jeju International Airport. It's a charter flight that has brought to Korea some 180 Thai tourists from Bangkok. More than a hundred of the Thai nationals were either denied entry at the airport or classified as "subject to re-examination."

[Soundbite] (Thai tourist) : "I can't reach my fellow travelers and I have no idea what kind of immigration procedures they are facing."

Out of some 180 Thai tourists who arrived in Jeju-do the day before, some 110 were also denied entry and had to return to Bangkok. It's a dumbfounding situation for travel agencies. They are worried that the recovery of the tourism sector targeting foreigners could be stalled despite the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.

[Soundbite] (Travel agency staff (VOICE MODIFIED)) : "We have waited 2-3 years, but even after the tourism market was re-opened to foreigners, few of them come because of other problems. We have no customers. It’s tough."

The Jeju Immigration Service says it is stepping up screening procedures because of the surge in the number of illegal foreign residents since the resumption of visa-free entry. Since the visa-waiver program was resumed on Jeju-do Island in June, 11 Thai and Mongolian nationals who entered Korea as tourists have been detained for illegal residency and employment in the country. In just two months, the number of foreigners whose whereabouts in Korea are unknown has increased to 31. The local tourism sector is worried that stricter immigration rules might deal another blow to the industry.