45% of unregistered foreigners entered Korea on visa waivers: data
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As for the reasons for illegally staying in South Korea, Song said it was to "engage in economic activities without proper employment visas."
"As the number of social conflicts is rising due to the rapidly increasing number of illegal immigrants, an efficient response must be taken by the government," said Song. "However, careful attention must also be taken to ensure no innocent individuals are harmed during the immigration process."
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Nearly 45 percent of the over 423,000 unregistered foreign nationals living in South Korea had originally entered the country under its visa waiver program and overstayed their permitted period of stay as of the end of 2023, according to data from the Ministry of Justice released Sunday in a report created by Rep. Song Seog-jun of the ruling People Power Party.
The data in the report said 16.9 percent of the more than 2.5 million foreign national residents in Korea were unregistered as of the end of last year.
Of the 423,675 unregistered immigrants in Korea, 169,283 entered under the B-1 visa waiver, automatically issued to citizens of certain countries for short-term visits of 30, 60, 90 or 180 days with restrictions on studying in academic programs or activities for financial gain. The rest entered on B-2 visas, primarily granted to those who wish to transit through Korea to a third country.
Both visa types, known as visa exemptions, allow temporary stays in Korea only.
An additional 87,067 individuals, accounting for 20.5 percent of the total unregistered foreign national residents as of the end of 2023, originally entered on C-3 short-term visit visas for daily business activities, tourism, attending events, general training, religious purposes, visiting relatives, academic research and other purposes.
By nationality, the largest number of people staying in the country unregistered were Thai nationals with 145,042, making up 76.3 percent of all those overstaying B-1 and B-2 visas. They were followed by 14,830 Chinese nationals and 10,827 Kazakhstan nationals who overstayed the same visas.
It remains an unanswered question why so many people overstay B-1 and B-2 visas as opposed to applying and receiving work visas. According to Song's report, "It is known that most of them are working illegally for economic purposes."
“An efficient response must be taken by the government,” said Song. “However, careful attention must also be taken to ensure no innocent individuals are harmed during the immigration screening process.”
The Korean government has a history of responding to illegal immigration by suspending visa waiver agreements with countries that show a spike in illegal immigration rates or crime rates that it claims pose harm to society, according to Song's report.
In both 2001 and 2008, the government temporarily suspended its visa waiver programs with Pakistan and Bangladesh, respectively, citing a sharp rise in illegal immigration from those two countries.
By Lee Jung-joo(lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com)
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