PPP lawmakers raise concerns as Seoul welcomes Chinese tourists visa-free

Members of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) are raising security and public safety concerns, as the Korean government on Monday began a visa-free entry program for Chinese tour groups. They claim the country will be vulnerable to visa overstays and illegal employment of Chinese nationals, especially as major government data networks remain offline following Friday’s fire at the National Information Resources Service (NIRS) facility in Daejeon. Under the new policy, in place until June 30 next year, groups of three or more Chinese nationals are allowed to enter Korea without visas and stay for up to 15 days. Authorities are betting on the new influx of tourists, estimated to add around 1 million extra visitors, to provide a much-needed economic lifeline to the tourism and retail sectors. Upon the launch of the program, Rep. Na Kyung-won of the main opposition party called for its postponement, citing the disruption to administrative services caused by the fire. “Resident registration certificates cannot be issued, internal networks for civil servants are down and even mobileWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times