Coast Guard arrests Chinese national who illegally entered, stayed a year
Published: 31 Oct. 2025, 18:33
![Chinese nationals attempt to flee across the Yellow Sea while trying to illegally enter Taean County, South Chungcheong, in the early morning of Oct. 6. [COAST GUARD]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/31/042597c0-8f64-429c-8d33-1856085a640f.jpg)
Chinese nationals attempt to flee across the Yellow Sea while trying to illegally enter Taean County, South Chungcheong, in the early morning of Oct. 6. [COAST GUARD]
A Chinese national who illegally crossed the Yellow Sea alone in a small boat and remained in Korea for a year without a visa has been arrested by the Korea Coast Guard.
The Taean Coast Guard said Friday it had detained and referred a Chinese man in his 40s to the prosecution on charges of violating the Immigration Act. A second Chinese man in his 30s, accused of helping him evade authorities after entering Korea, was also referred without detention for violating immigration and quarantine laws.
According to investigators, the primary suspect departed from Shidao, a port in Shandong Province, around noon on Oct. 11, 2024, in a single-person Class 1 motorboat. He arrived at Mado Beach in Geunheung-myeon, Taean County, South Chungcheong, at 9:42 p.m. the same day. He was picked up by an accomplice who had been waiting at a prearranged location.
The Coast Guard found that the man had loaded fuel containers and drinking water onto the boat before making the 350-kilometer (217.5-mile) journey across the sea.
He first entered Korea in 2017 on a work visa for seafarers but overstayed his visa after it expired in 2021. After working in rural areas, he was deported in October 2023 when his undocumented status was discovered.
![Chinese nationals are transferred to Sinjin Port after being apprehended in the Yellow Sea while attempting to illegally enter Taean County, South Chungcheong, in the early morning of Oct. 6. [COAST GUARD]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/31/d2146c67-0557-461c-be14-c873326e0c4a.jpg)
Chinese nationals are transferred to Sinjin Port after being apprehended in the Yellow Sea while attempting to illegally enter Taean County, South Chungcheong, in the early morning of Oct. 6. [COAST GUARD]
The accomplice, who helped him re-enter the country, had entered Korea in March 2023 on a work visa, but the visa was canceled just two months later. He also remained in the country illegally. The two men reportedly planned the smuggling operation via messaging service WeChat, agreeing on the timing and location of the pickup.
“With repeated smuggling attempts across the Yellow Sea by Chinese nationals, we have tightened our surveillance,” said a Taean Coast Guard official. “We hope this case reinforces the perception that anyone attempting illegal entry into Korea will be caught.”
During the Chuseok holidays on Oct. 6, eight Chinese nationals attempting to illegally enter Taean from Weihai, Shandong Province, were intercepted by military and Coast Guard personnel during a routine patrol.
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 SHIN JIN-HO [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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