Korea to speed up visa process for China's tourist groups

Korea's government said Friday it will help speed up visa processing for a mass group of Chinese tourists scheduled to visit the country next month.

The Ministry of Justice said it will allow around 5,000 employees from a Chinese company to get visas through a simple online procedure. For some 3,000 high-ranking executives and managers of the company, the ministry said it will issue special visas that grant entry to South Korea for the next 10 years. It will also exempt them from visa fees.

Chinese firms have been sending thousands of employees to South Korea on incentive trips.

In January, 2,700 McDonald's employees based in China and 1,600 workers from a Chinese health equipment manufacturer visited South Korea. In March, 6,000 employees from Aolan International Beauty Group, a cosmetics and health supplements company based in China's southern province of Guangzhou, came for a week-long tour, followed by another 4,200 from a Shanghai-based financial group who visited this month.

The 8,000 Chinese tourists, scheduled to visit South Korea early next month, will be the single largest group of tourists to ever arrive in South Korea. (Yonhap)