Police keep close eye on 98 foreigners

Amid heightened security alerts before next week’s G-20 Summit, police are closely monitoring foreigners residing in South Korea who may be engaging in activities other than their stated purposes of stay, officials said yesterday.

Out of about 50,000 foreigners from countries in the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia, the National Police Agency (NPA) has been watching 98 foreigners whose purposes of stay are unclear or who have frequently moved their address, officials said.

Police officials are routinely confirming their residential addresses and places of employment and checking whether they engage in activities violating their purposes of stay stated in their immigration documents.

Police are screening airports for terrorist suspects and working closely with other countries to exchange information on terrorist organizations and protesters, officials said.

The NPA blocked entry for 2,713 terrorist suspects from 69 nations with a Interpol acquired list, and 119 suspects wanted by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency, officials said.

The combined number of foreigners whose entries were blocked by the Justice Ministry and the nation’s spy agency amounts to 5,000, according to the NPA. The list included 184 protesters who were arrested during the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in September last year.

The Korea Immigration Service this year estimated that there are 1.22 million foreigners living in Korea.

Yonhap