South Korean media: Chinese group tourists can enter South Korea without a visa from the 29th ... up to 15 days
¬ Until June next year ... relevant departments jointly announced the implementation plan
From the 29th to June next year, Chinese group tourists of three or more people can travel in South Korea for up to 15 days without a visa.
On the 7th, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Office of the Prime Minister jointly released the "Temporary Visa Exemption Implementation Plan for Chinese Group Tourists" containing the above content.
Chinese group tourists organized by domestic and foreign specialized travel agencies with three or more people can enter South Korea without a visa within 15 days until June 30 next year. In principle, they should enter and exit South Korea on the same flight or ship.
The travel agencies responsible for recruiting Chinese group tourists must be registered and designated by the Korean travel agencies designated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Chinese local Korean embassies.
According to the Jeju Special Act, Jeju Island still allows individual and group tourism without a visa within 30 days as per previous regulations.
The South Korean government stated that it has also formulated measures aimed at minimizing the number of illegal stayers.
Domestic specialized travel agencies must register the list of tourists on the Hi Korea official website 24 hours before entry (36 hours before entry by ship).
The Korean Immigration Service will check whether there are individuals restricted from entering, those with a history of illegal stay, etc., in the tourist list, and notify the travel agencies of the results 12 hours before entry (24 hours before entry by ship).
If confirmed as a high-risk group, they will be excluded from the visa-exempt group and need to apply for a visa separately through the overseas embassy to enter.
If a tourist leaves the group without permission, administrative penalties will be strengthened. If the proportion of tourists who leave the group without permission exceeds 2% of the quarterly average, the designation of the specialized travel agency will be revoked. If the tourist intentionally or colludes to leave the group, the designation will be immediately revoked.
If a domestic specialized travel agency receives administrative punishment due to tourists leaving the group without permission, this will be reflected in its new or updated designation assessment. If the designation is revoked, it will not be able to be designated as a specialized travel agency for two years thereafter.
For foreign specialized travel agencies that handle visa applications, if they receive administrative punishment, not only will the group tour visa application agency business be suspended for the same period, but the general visa application agency business will also be suspended.
The Ministry of Justice and related government departments will provide guidance on the procedures for travel agencies from the 8th to the 19th, and starting from the 15th, the Immigration Service of the Ministry of Justice will carry out the registration and designation procedures for specialized travel agencies.
In order to cope with the surge in tourists before the Chinese National Day holiday in October, it has been decided to start registering tourist lists from the 22nd.
The South Korean government expects that this temporary visa exemption policy will inject vitality into the tourism industry and the regional economy. At the same time, it hopes that this move will expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges between South Korea and China, and enhance mutual understanding and friendly relations between the two countries' peoples.
On the other hand, since November last year, China has allowed South Korean nationals to enter without a visa.
Source: Chosun Ilbo
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1842714854051978/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.