Chinese visitor sneaks into Jeju Island by jumping an airport fence

A Chinese visitor avoided immigration and sneaked illegally into Jeju Island by jumping a wall and a fence at Jeju International Airport Tuesday, exposing lax security at the airport.

He was apprehended on Wednesday.

“A 34-year-old Chinese citizen surnamed Wang jumped a fence at Jeju International Airport after landing around 10:19 p.m. on Tuesday,” according to the Jeju Immigration Office on Wednesday. “He got into Jeju but was caught in a day.”

After travelling from Harbin to Jeju International Airport on Tuesday, Wang and fellow passengers boarded a bus from the plane to an arrival gate.

After he got off the bus, Wang managed to slipped through the crowd and go into hiding for some 30 minutes, according to the immigration office.

“The immigration office, in matching the names of passengers to those who passed through the customs, realized before midnight that Wang did not pass through immigration,” said a Jeju Immigration official. “The whole office was on alert from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning, checking all the CCTV footage.”

According to the immigration office, they confirmed Wang’s escape around 10 a.m. Wednesday morning. CCTV footage showed Wang jumping a 2-meter (6.5-feet) cement wall at the airport’s southern end and clearing a 1-meter metal fence at around 10:50 p.m. Tuesday.

The immigration office apprehended him at a private home in Ora-dong, Jeju, on Wednesday afternoon.

The fact that a visitor could get out of the airport so easily is sparking a barrage of criticisms.

Additionally, Wang is accused of having been deported from Jeju Island this year after staying on the island illegally — which explains why he didn’t want to go through immigration at the airport.

“The immigration office is still investigating that matter,” said the official.

BY ESTHER CHUNG, CHOI CHOONG-IL [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]