People wait at the check-in desk at the Jeju Airport. — YONHAP/VNA Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Jeju Immigration Office and the Jeju Tourism Organisation on Tuesday confirmed that a number of Vietnamese tourists who came to Jeju Island under visa exemption did not board the flight back home as scheduled.

According to a Vietnam News Agency reporter in Seoul, authorities said that 38 out of 80 Vietnamese people who arrived in Jeju from the south-central province of Nha Trang, Việt Nam, on the flight coming into South Korea on November 14 did not board the flight back home.

South Korean authorities are extracting images from the CCTV system to find the whereabouts of the group of 38 Vietnamese tourists after they lost contact and disappeared at the last scheduled sightseeing spot on November 17. These people will be considered illegal residents after December 14, when the 30-day visa-free stay ends.

In order to promote tourism development, the Jeju Island government has operated a visa-free programme, allowing foreigners from 64 countries, including Việt Nam, to stay on Jeju Island for up to 30 days without a visa.

The Vietnamese Embassy in South Korea in a statement to Vietnam News Agency said that the embassy had received information through the press about the incident involving 38 Vietnamese citizens, and is reporting to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant authorities.

Currently, the embassy is closely coordinating with relevant agencies of South Korea, closely monitoring the incident and is ready to cooperate with agencies in the spirit of the Việt Nam-South Korea strategic partnership.

On this occasion, the Embassy also requested Vietnamese citizens to absolutely respect the laws, customs and especially the regulations on entry and exit of the host country once entering South Korea, to avoid affecting the image of Việt Nam and the efforts to develop good relationship between the two countries. — VNS