The Korea Herald

피터빈트

Two Kazakh nationals arrested for illegal entry

By Choi Jeong-yoon

Published : March 29, 2023 - 16:49

    • Link copied

A 21-year-old Kazakh national enters Incheon District Court on Wednesday for questioning on charges of escaping from Incheon Airport after being denied entry into the country. A 21-year-old Kazakh national enters Incheon District Court on Wednesday for questioning on charges of escaping from Incheon Airport after being denied entry into the country.

The illegal entry of two male Kazakh nationals came to an end on Wednesday, as one suspect who absconded from Incheon Airport turned himself in earlier this morning. This comes three days after the police apprehended another fugitive, a man in his 20s, in Daejeon on Sunday.

The two, aged 21 and 18, had broken a terminal window and climbed over a fence near a runway of the airport at around 4:20 a.m Sunday while waiting for a repatriation flight. They had been denied entry into Korea, as the purpose of their visit was confirmed as unclear by immigration officers.

The 18-year-old surrendered to the police at 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday. He had fled nearly 200 kilometers away from the airport to Daejeon, but came back to Incheon after seeing his accomplice get arrested, the police said.

Immigration authorities had put out wanted posters among Kazakh communities to encourage the fugitives to turn themselves in. The police also contacted the teenager's parents to persuade him to hand himself in voluntarily.

The teenager reportedly said that he attempted illegal entry to earn money in South Korea in order to take care of his family back in Kazakhstan.

The police will request an arrest warrant after conducting additional interrogations.

Meanwhile, the 21-year-old man who was arrested on Sunday appeared at Incheon District Court for questioning on Wednesday afternoon.

He did not respond to questions from the media about why he escaped.

The results of the warrant review are expected to come out later in the day.

The police also embarked on an investigation into whether there were any brokers or other individuals who assisted the two enter the country illegally.