JejuIsland IntroducedKorea Electronic Travel Authorization to prevent undocumented foreigner immigrants

The Ministry of Justice decided to prevent undocumented foreigner immigrant from entering the country by detouring to Jeju Island, where they can enter without a visa.

The Ministry of Justice announced on August 4ththat they have decided to introduce of the Korea Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA) in Jeju Island.The Korea Electronic Travel Authorization is a system that requires citizens who were able to enter to Korea without prior verification of 112 visa-free countries to obtain travel authorization prior to departure.

When the government introduced the Korea Electronic Travel Authorization on September 1st last year, the government exempted the application of the Korea Electronic Travel Authorization on Jeju Islandin consideration of its international tourist city characteristic

However, in this process, there have been cases where foreigners who entered without a visa moved to inland and became an undocumented immigrant.

The Ministry of Justice said, “There is an aspect of concerns about the inconvenience to general tourists due to the application of the Korea Electronic Travel Authorization,”but “General foreign tourists are automatically granted with permission within 30 minutes after applying and if permission is granted, entry procedureswill be simplified such asexemption from filling out an immigration form after arrival and use of a dedicated screening desk, so there seems to be no problem in attracting tourists normally.”

The Ministry of Justice expects that if the Korea Electronic Travel Authorization is applied to Jeju Island, it will be possible to determine whether foreign nationals entering to Jeju Island are entering the country with a purpose of illegal employment or whether they are criminals.

Through the Korea Electronic Travel Authorization, foreigners who are suspicious of these aspect can be prevented from boarding the airplane.Minister of Ministry of Justice, Han Dong-hoon said, “We will promote the legal entry of foreigners by simplifying the procedure as much as possible, but strengthening border management by resolutely blocking the systematic illegal entry attempts.”

Reporter Hasung Song