Ahead Of APEC Summit, Foreign Arrivals Must Report Yourself

APEC 2025 Summit series in South Korea. (Wikimedia Commons/)

The short-term foreigncomer who stays between Friday and Saturday in the area near Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, the location of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) next week, is obliged to report to the government with tightened security measures.

South Korea's Ministry of Justice said visa holders B-1, B-2, C-1, C-3 and C-4 staying at local accommodation in Busan, Daegu, Ulsan and Gyeongsang Province were required to show their passport or travel certificate to the inn provider.

Inn providers are then required to report citizenship, date of birth, passport number and other information belonging to guests through the website of the Korean Immigration Service or its mobile app within 12 hours of check-in.

Those who do not comply with both foreign guests and inn operators can be fined up to 500,000 won.

This step is carried out based on the Anti-terrorism Act, which requires these additional measures when the national level of vigilance is raised to a "alert" or higher.

This status will be upgraded from the current level to "alert" starting Friday, ahead of next week's series of activities.

"There will be discomfort for foreign visitors and the hotel industry during this period," said Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho, as reported by The Korea Times, October 23.

"However, this step is important to ensure the safety of world leaders and the general public during the APEC Summit, and we ask for your full cooperation," he added.

The APEC series of events will begin next Monday with a Senior Consulting Officials Meeting, followed by the APEC Ministerial Meeting and the CEO's Summit.

Meanwhile, the meeting of Economic Leaders from October 31 to November 1 will bring together leaders from 21 member countries, including US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.