Two Chinese nationals were arrested Wednesday under charges of violating South Korea‘s immigration control law. They were apprehended for illegally entering the country through Incheon International Airport last week.

The married couple was caught on Jan. 25 in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. They had gotten past four different stages of security at Korea’s largest airport on Jan. 21.

The Justice Ministry’s Immigration Service said that the two individuals, who are both of Korean descent and both 31 years old, entered Korea through a broker who had promised them jobs here. They reportedly paid a total of 120,000 yuan ($18,000) to the broker.

“The broker appears to have given them the mobile phone number of a person who would arrange jobs for them, and told them to go to Cheonan,” an immigration official was quoted as telling local news.

The couple reportedly left Beijing and arrived at Incheon International Airport at 7:31 p.m. on Jan 20, after transiting at Jeju and Narita, Japan. 

Their next flight was scheduled 25 hours later at 8:17 p.m. the next day. They reportedly told the authorities that they had planned to seek tourist visas as transit travelers, enter the country and hide out.

The authorities said that the couple had been stopped while trying to pass through immigration. They had stayed inside the airport and slipped through security in the early morning.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)