More than 10,000 foreign visitors are illegally staying in South Korea after entering the country under a visa-waiver program during the 2018 Winter Olympics in the South Korean town of PyeongChang, a government report showed Friday.
The report, submitted by the Justice Ministry to Jun Hee-kyung, a lawmaker of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, revealed 351,739 foreign visitors were granted visa-free entry to attend the Olympics, which ran from February 9-25.
Out of them, a total of 11,535 visitors were confirmed to be illegally staying in South Korea as of late last month having not exited the country after the end of the visa-free period.
South Korea formalized a 90-day visa waiver arrangement for foreigners as part of efforts to draw visitors to the Olympics and the country's tourist spots. It was the first time the country allowed foreigners to make a visa-free entry for an international sports event.
Jun urged the government strengthen its crackdown on foreigners illegally staying and local brokers helping them, citing fears that an increase in the number of illegal migrants could result in more crimes committed by them and disrupt the labor market for authorized foreign migrants. (Yonhap)
The report, submitted by the Justice Ministry to Jun Hee-kyung, a lawmaker of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, revealed 351,739 foreign visitors were granted visa-free entry to attend the Olympics, which ran from February 9-25.
Out of them, a total of 11,535 visitors were confirmed to be illegally staying in South Korea as of late last month having not exited the country after the end of the visa-free period.
South Korea formalized a 90-day visa waiver arrangement for foreigners as part of efforts to draw visitors to the Olympics and the country's tourist spots. It was the first time the country allowed foreigners to make a visa-free entry for an international sports event.
Jun urged the government strengthen its crackdown on foreigners illegally staying and local brokers helping them, citing fears that an increase in the number of illegal migrants could result in more crimes committed by them and disrupt the labor market for authorized foreign migrants. (Yonhap)
