China, South Korea in visa tit-for-tat
Beijing retaliates after Seoul suspended short-term visa issuance to Chinese visitors
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — China has suspended the issuing of short-term visas to South Koreans in response to Seoul’s imposition of travel restrictions on Chinese travelers over Covid concerns, Beijing’s embassy said Tuesday.
“Chinese embassies and consulates in Korea will suspend the issuance of short-term visas for Korean citizens,” the embassy in Seoul said, adding the measures would be “adjusted again in line with South Korea’s removal of the discriminatory entry restrictions on China.”
Last month, Seoul imposed a wave of restrictions on travelers from China, including visa restrictions, testing requirements and some flight limits, citing a surge in Covid-19 infections.
Seoul is capping flights from China, and travelers from the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau will have to test negative before travel.
Mainland visitors will also be tested on arrival and be required to quarantine for a week if they test positive, authorities have said.
China currently issues no tourist visas and requires a negative Covid test for all arrivals.
One Chinese national who tested positive on arriving in Seoul refused to quarantine and fled, sparking a two-day manhunt that dominated South Korean headlines.
Police eventually found the Chinese national — who was not identified, but described as a medical tourist — who will be questioned this week over the infraction, local media reported.
According to official figures, 2,224 Chinese nationals on short-term visas have landed in South Korea since 2 January, with 17.5 percent testing positive on arrival.
South Korea has also restricted the issuing of short-term visas to Chinese nationals, excluding public officials, diplomats and those with crucial humanitarian and business purposes, until the end of January.
Other restrictions include scaling back the number of flights from China and requiring all flights from the country to land at South Korea’s main Incheon International Airport.
For both 2019 and 2020, tourists from China accounted for the largest proportion of all foreign tourists visiting South Korea, making up 34.4 percent and 27.2 percent, respectively, according to Seoul’s official data.
But the number of Chinese tourists dropped significantly last year — from 6.02 million in 2019 to 200,000 for January to November 2022 — making up only 7.5 percent of all tourists from overseas, South Korea’s culture ministry told