Petition calling for end to visa-free entry for Chinese tops 90,000 signatures

A petition calling for an end to visa-free entry for Chinese nationals and tighter screening for all noncitizens has garnered more than 90,000 signatures.

The petition, posted on the National Assembly website on Aug. 31, has now been referred to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee after surpassing the 50,000-signature threshold required for parliamentary review. As of Wednesday, it had received 92,000 signatures.

The petition urges the government to abolish visa-free entry for Chinese nationals. The issue has drawn attention to Jeju’s separate visa-waiver program, which has been in place since 2002.

“Promoting tourism and generating economic benefits are important, but they cannot take precedence over the lives and safety of the public. If visa-free entry is permitted, safeguards must be put in place to prevent blind spots that could make it difficult to adequately verify visitors’ identities and assess potential criminal risks before they enter the country,” said the petitioner.

The petition also asks authorities to tighten entry screening for all foreign citizens, calling for expanded checks of criminal records, international wanted status and past refusals of entry.

“Regardless of nationality, cross-border sharing of criminal information should be expanded so that authorities can verify visitors’ criminal records, international wanted status, previous entry denials or deportations, records of unlawful stay and violations of immigration laws before entry,” the petitioner added.

“Stringent standards should be established to generally restrict the entry of foreign nationals found to have records of serious crimes like murder, robbery, sex crimes, drug offenses and organized crime.”

The petition comes amid growing safety concerns in Jeju following recent crimes involving Chinese nationals. In July, the Jeju District Court sentenced two Chinese men in their 50s to prison terms of eight months and one year, respectively, for pickpocketing and attempted theft after they entered the island under its visa-free program.

In another criminal case that month on Jeju Island, two Chinese men who were staying here illegally were apprehended by police on suspicion of aggravated assault after they allegedly stabbed each other during an argument at their shared residence in Jeju City.

Separately, police said earlier this month that they were looking into a Chinese teenager on suspicion of unlawfully listening to air-traffic-control communications at Jeju International Airport. The suspect allegedly used a two-way radio at the airport’s observation deck to monitor communications between the control tower and aircraft for about 90 minutes.