Chinese national arrested for illegal entry attempt via rubber boat in Jeju Island

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Chinese national arrested for illegal entry attempt via rubber boat in Jeju Island

Published: 09 Sep. 2025, 14:06 Updated: 09 Sep. 2025, 17:16

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

An unidentified rubber boat found on the shore near a haenyeo changing station in Yongsu-ri, Hangyeong-myeon, Jeju on Sept. 8. [JOONGANG ILBO]

JEJU — A Chinese national was arrested in Jeju for allegedly attempting to illegally enter Korea by sea after a rubber boat was discovered on the island’s western coast, police said on Tuesday.

Authorities from the Jeju Seobu Police Precinct detained the individual at a motel in Seogwipo at around 6:30 p.m. on Monday. The person is under investigation for violating the Immigration Control Act.

"I entered Korea illegally to earn money," the detainee said during questioning. "I departed from Nantong, China on Sept. 7 and arrived early in the morning on Sept. 8."

Nantong is about 460 kilometers (286 miles) from Jeju Island.

Authorities confirmed the individual had previously entered Jeju without a visa in October 2017, overstayed illegally and was deported after voluntarily turning themselves in on Jan. 18 last year.

Police believe the suspect did not act alone. Food, life jackets and emergency rations recovered from the boat suggest that five others may have been on board. Authorities are searching for the additional suspects and investigating whether an accomplice in Korea helped facilitate the entry.

At around 7:56 a.m. on Monday, a resident reported a rubber boat near a haenyeo (women diver) changing station in Yongsu-ri, Hangyeong-myeon. The resident who had been exercising nearby was the first to notice the vessel, with another resident later filing the report with the Korea Coast Guard.

“At first I thought someone had launched it for squid fishing,” a resident said. “But the boat was completely new, there were a lot of Chinese characters on the supplies and several fuel containers. That seemed unusual.”

Another resident, who also saw the vessel, said the location itself raised suspicion.

“It’s not a place where boats typically come in,” the resident said. “And if they’re Chinese, they can visit Jeju without a visa. So why come this way? It doesn’t make sense.”

An unidentified rubber boat found on the shore near a haenyeo changing station in Yongsu-ri, Hangyeong-myeon, Jeju on Sept. 8. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Chinese nationals are not eligible for visa-free entry to mainland Korea, but Jeju Island is an exception under a special regional visa waiver program. The program allows Chinese travelers to enter the island without a visa for up to 30 days.

Coast Guard officers found six life jackets, four raincoats, numerous fuel containers, bread labeled in Chinese, what appeared to be military-grade emergency rations, two mounted fishing rods and a 90-horsepower Honda outboard motor on the boat.

The fuel included nine green 20-liter (5.2-gallon) containers, one red 55-liter container, one red 25-liter container and one white container. One of the green containers and the smaller red container were empty, while the largest red container was half full.

Investigators also found a GPS device next to the control stick, equipped for mid- to long-distance navigation and operation.

The Coast Guard, police and military counterintelligence officers launched a joint investigation after towing the boat from the shore for further inspection.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHOI CHOONG-IL [[email protected]]