Korean embassy in Beijing to issue visas directly to Chinese travelers amid China's banning

published: 2017-03-05 09:36:36 주중공관들, 中의 ‘韓관광 중단’에 “직접 비자신청 받겠다” 맞불 Amid China’s continued retaliation against Korea’s THAAD defense upgrade decision, Seoul is seeking countermeasures to cope with the situation. Such as allowing Chinese travelers to apply their visas directly to Korean government institutions,… despite their country’s ban on travel agencies selling travel packages to Korea. Lee Ji-won has our top story. Chinese nationals will now be able to apply for visas directly at South Korean embassies and consulates… as a remedy to China’s ban on selling package tours to South Korea. Previously Chinese travelers had to go through designated travel agencies. On Sunday, sources in China said the Korean embassy in Beijing as well as all other Korean diplomatic missions and even non-consular government institutions had begun accepting visa applications last Friday. The Korean embassy in Beijing said in a statement that rumors circulating online that South Korea has stopped granting visas to Chinese citizens are not true, and that visas are being issued as normal. This comes after China’s national tourism agency last week called on travel agencies across the country… to stop selling all packages to Korea starting March 15th, in retaliation for Seoul’s decision to deploy the THAAD missile defense system on Korean soil. China has retaliated in other ways, too, such as refusing to approve a massive amount of Korean imports, saying that they “do not meet their trade requirements.” Chinese media reported Sunday that the authorities in the country’s northeastern province of Liaoning did not approve customs clearance for Korean food products that arrived a day before,… because the dates of production and the health certificates did not match. They also discarded more than two tons of fish products… for not meeting China’s standards for food additives. With more retaliation likely to come,… the Korean embassy in Beijing on Friday set up a special task force to look after the interests of its citizens and businesses.

Lee Ji-won, Arirang News.