Gov't Plans to Expand Prescreening of Tourists

The government and the ruling Saenuri Party agreed to introduce a system to check necessary information of people who want to visit Korea as a preventive measure against terrorism.

According to the Ministry of Justice, Friday, those who plan to visit Korea will have to submit their identity information, including criminal records, to the ministry. And then, the ministry will notify them whether they are eligible to enter the country.

The checking system has been test-operated only for the users of a few domestic airports since last February. The ministry believes all airports in Korea, including Incheon International Airport, will fully adopt the system.

Yet it is unclear what and how much identity information the ministry wants to check. It is also unclear if the system will apply to those who visit Korea by ship.

During the test period, the ministry said it collected information on more than 1 million visitors and 358 of them, including people of sex and drug crimes, were denied entry.

Moreover, the ministry will replace all 2,012 surveillance cameras at Incheon International Airport with those with better quality.

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