South Korea recorded Chinese nationals as the largest group among foreign criminal offenders for the seventh consecutive year, with compound crimes involving drunk driving, unlicensed driving, and fleeing by illegal Chinese immigrants occurring in succession.
According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to the National Assembly on the 9th, foreign criminal offenders totaled 22,875 as of August 2025. Chinese nationals accounted for 10,186 (44.5%), the largest share. Vietnamese nationals at 2,512 and Thai nationals at 1,346 followed.
Chinese criminal offenders have been arrested at over 15,000 annually: 19,382 in 2019, 18,921 in 2020, 15,815 in 2021, 16,436 in 2022, 15,403 in 2023, and 16,099 in 2024. Even considering that Chinese nationals comprise 36.2% of foreign residents, the crime rate is approximately 10 percentage points higher.
The illegal immigrant situation is also serious. According to the Ministry of Justice's Immigration and Foreign Policy Statistical Yearbook, illegal foreign residents totaled 397,522 as of the end of December 2024, accounting for 15.0% of the total 2,650,783 foreign residents. While the number peaked at 430,389 in October 2023 and has somewhat decreased due to strengthened enforcement, it remains at elevated levels.
By nationality, Thai nationals are the most numerous, with Chinese nationals holding the second-highest share. The proportion of Chinese nationals among immigration law violators is even more pronounced, reaching 79.6% of all immigration offenders in 2022.
Amid this situation, an incident involving drunk and unlicensed driving by an illegal Chinese immigrant occurred in Jeju. The Jeju Western Police Station announced on the 9th that it had arrested a Chinese illegal immigrant in his 40s, identified as Mr. A, on charges of drunk driving, unlicensed driving, and violation of the Immigration Control Act.
Mr. A is suspected of driving a passenger vehicle from a road near Oedo-dong, Jeju City to the Oiljang entrance intersection at around 10:40 p.m. on the 5th, refusing police orders to stop, abandoning the vehicle, and fleeing.
At approximately 10:16 p.m. the same day, a 112 emergency report was received stating "there is a vehicle driving dangerously across lanes and following the caller." Officer Kim Ri-hyun of the Nohyeong District Unit under the Jeju Western Police Station and colleagues tracked the suspect vehicle while communicating with the caller in real time and located it near Oiljang.
When ordered to stop via the patrol car's loudspeaker, the driver exited the vehicle and fled into a nearby field. Despite rainy conditions that left the ground muddy, Officer Kim and colleagues immediately exited their vehicle and pursued approximately 300 meters to apprehend Mr. A.
Investigation revealed that Mr. A had been driving while intoxicated and without a license. He was also an illegal immigrant without valid residency status.
"I will be a police officer who does not overlook even small risk factors in the field so that residents can live with peace of mind," Officer Kim said. Officer Kim reportedly demonstrated field response capabilities in January when, during duty, he remembered a table with alcohol bottles at a restaurant, later spotted a vehicle driving nearby, and conducted a drunk driving enforcement.
