Jeju residents unsettled by rise in Chinese tourist crimes
Chinese tourists are caught jaywalking across a four-lane road near Nuemaru Street in Jeju’s Yeon-dong area during a police patrol on March 21. Korea Times photo by Kim Young-heon
Chinese tourists surge from 410,000 to 1.38 million, accounting for 67 percent of foreign crimes
A bustling evening in Nuwemaru Street, a popular tourist spot in Jeju Island’s Yeon-dong area, was disrupted on March 21 when police whistles pierced through the noise. Officers wielding red batons stopped two women who had jaywalked across a four-lane road.
The women turned out to be Chinese tourists in their twenties. Moments later, four more Chinese tourists were caught attempting to jaywalk from the opposite side.
“It’s common to find Chinese tourists jaywalking during evening patrols,” one officer said. “Most say they didn’t know it was illegal.”
With international tourists returning to Jeju after a pandemic-induced lull, the island has seen renewed vitality in businesses, along with renewed public safety concerns.
Police have ramped up crackdowns as crimes involving foreigners have risen, especially among some Chinese nationals accused of offenses ranging from violent crimes and urn thefts to illegal tourism operations.
Police patrol the area near Nuwemaru Street in Jeju’s Yeon-dong district on March 21 to monitor public order violations by foreign tourists. Korea Times photo by Kim Young-heon
Violent crimes raise alarm
The nature of the crimes has also become more violent and sophisticated. On Feb. 24, three Chinese nationals were arrested for allegedly killing another Chinese man with a weapon in a luxury hotel in Jeju’s Nohyeong-dong while attempting to purchase cryptocurrency, stealing about 85 million won ($63,000) in cash.
On the same day, two Chinese men in their 40s reportedly broke into a columbarium at a Jeju temple and stole six urns, which they hid in a nearby mountain before fleeing the country. They sent the temple a video of the stolen urns and demanded $2 million in ransom.
In January, a Chinese man in his 30s was arrested for fatally assaulting his ex-girlfriend, also Chinese, for over two hours in a studio apartment in Yeon-dong.
These high-profile cases have sparked fear among locals. Kim, 40, a resident of Yeon-dong, said, “When I come across a group of tourists speaking Chinese on my way home, I can’t help but recall the 2016 church murder case,” referring to a notorious incident in which a Chinese man killed a Korean woman praying at a church during a trip to Jeju.
Police worry the crimes may also drive away domestic tourists. Jeju police have launched a “100-day special law enforcement period” that began on March 23, assigning a 90-member patrol unit to focus on foreign crime prevention and public order violations.
“Jeju’s visa-free policy allows Chinese tourists to stay for up to 30 days, and that’s led to more illegal overstayers,” a police official said. “We also have a large population of legal Chinese residents here through student visas, investment immigration or marriage. With an average of 3,000 Chinese tourists arriving daily this year, law enforcement demands are rising fast.”
The tourism industry is also on high alert. Already struggling with declining domestic tourism, local businesses fear that rising crime could further deter Korean visitors. A viral photo last June, showing a Chinese tourist defecating on a downtown Jeju street, sparked backlash and damaged the island’s image.
“Apart from overpriced services, foreign crimes, especially those involving Chinese tourists, can hurt domestic tourism even more,” said an official from the Jeju Tourism Association. “If negative sentiment toward Chinese visitors spreads, it could even affect tourists from other countries.”
According to Jeju Provincial Police and the Jeju Tourism Association, the number of foreign crime suspects was in the 500s during the COVID-19 pandemic but rebounded to 608 in 2023, a 13.6 percent increase from 535 in 2022. The surge in foreign visitors — from 80,000 in 2022 to 700,000 in 2023 and 1.9 million last year — has coincided with a rise in criminal activity.
Chinese nationals make up the majority of foreign suspects. Between 2019 and 2023, 1,941 of the 2,917 foreign suspects, or 66 percent, were Chinese. In 2023 alone, they accounted for 67 percent of cases. Meanwhile, the share of Chinese tourists rose from 58.6 percent (410,000 out of 700,000) in 2023 to 72.6 percent (1.38 million out of 1.9 million) last year.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.