Crime on Jeju Island has risen sharply in recent years. / Yonhap



By Hong Dam-young

Jeju Island is in the midst of a foreign crime wave.

Until recently, the island has been known as one of Korea's best tourist spots, attracting a growing number of foreigners each year.

In June this year, almost 18,000 foreigners were registered as living on the island, of whom 8,400 were illegal immigrants without a visa, according to an immigration office in Jeju.

And more than 1.6 million foreigners had visited the island by the end of June.

But the number of foreigners is not the only figure rising in Jeju: crimes by foreigners have been rapidly increasing over the past few years.

The number has been rising since 2011, from 121 to 393 in 2015, and even more on the way this year, according to Yonhap news agency.

According to Jeju Provincial Police Agency, 347 foreigners had committed crimes as at the end of July this year, a 60 percent increase from last year during the same period.

Amid growing fears that the figure may exceed 600 by the end of the year, people are calling for tougher action.

Among the 347, 132 were people nabbed for violating traffic rules, 67 for assault, 50 for robbery, and 32 with intellectual crime.

Five people were charged with sexual assault, three with drug offences, three with gambling, and one with murder.

Most foreign offenders were Chinese, 240 out of 347, or about 70 percent. Others included 13 Americans, 12 Mongolians, 10 Vietnamese, six Taiwanese, four Canadians and two Japanese.

Chinese were also responsible for most of the serious offenses, while people from most of the other countries were charged with minor offenses.

More than 9,300 Chinese are registered as foreigners on the island, followed by 424 Americans and 353 Taiwanese.

"We will operate a foreign affairs section next year to deal with the foreign crime wave, and cooperate with the immigration office to control illegal immigrants and make sure the best security is provided," said a police agency official.

Meanwhile, a group of Chinese staying in a same villa in downtown Jeju fought with each other for making noises on Aug. 20. One was left with serious injuries that will take 12 weeks to heal.