Undocumented foreigners return home as coronavirus flourishes
Undocumented foreigners stand outside the Jeju Immigration Office. The ever-expanding coronavirus epidemic here has triggered an exodus. Yonhap
By Park Si-soo
An exodus of undocumented foreigners here has begun as the coronavirus epidemic continues. Hundreds of illegal sojourners come to the immigration office on Jeju Island each day asking for quick deportation, according to
News Agency.
On Tuesday alone, nearly 200 people gave themselves up to Jeju Immigration Office ― nearly as many as the 230 who surrendered throughout last month. Most were Chinese.
“The virus is spreading so fast,” Yonhap quoted an undocumented Chinese working at a restaurant on Jeju as saying. “My family in China worries about me so much, so I decided to return home.”
Another Chinese, who has lived on Jeju for a year working at a construction site, said he found “no reason to stay” because the epidemic had closed his job site.
“On top of this, I feel that my Korean peers are uncomfortable with working with Chinese,” he said.
Jeju has one of the biggest clusters of undocumented foreigners, about 10,000, most from China. This can be blamed on the island's visa waiver policy for short-term visitors from the neighboring country, initiated in 2002, as part of efforts to boost tourism and the economy with foreign investment.
The visa waiver has been on hold since early February, as part of efforts to minimize the risk of coronavirus coming from China.