There had to be more than just the Malaysian employee involved with this heist of money from this casino on Jeju Island. What did she do wheel out 300 kilogram of money on a dolly through the casino?:
A stash of W8.1 billion has been found in a secret safe at the Landing Casino in the Shinhwa World Marriott Resort on Jeju Island, where billions have gone missing (US$1=W1,097).
Police said Wednesday that the new stash was found in a safe in a secret vault in the casino from where another W14.5 billion in cash had vanished without a trace.
The secret vault is not the casino’s ordinary safe where chips and gambling money are stored, but a 50 sq.m space containing dozens of safes of different sizes.
Police discovered the new stash of money while raiding the secret vault after the casino filed a report accusing a female Malaysian executive of making off with the W14.5 billion in crisp W50,000 notes that would have weighed nearly 300 kg.
The 55-year-old woman disappeared last December and is suspected of absconding with the money on behalf of her boss, the troubled Hong Kong-based chairman of Landing International, Yang Zhihui.
President Moon Jae-in said Sunday that he could give North Korea’s Kim Jong-un a tour of Mount Halla, South Korea’s tallest mountain, on the southern island of Jeju, if the leader comes for a visit.
Moon made the remarks in response to a reporter’s question about what he would show Kim should the communist leader reciprocate his own visit to Pyongyang last month for the third inter-Korean summit aimed at fostering inter-Korean rapprochement and cooperation.
“As we have an expression like ‘from Mount Paekdu to Mount Halla,’ I could give him a tour of Mount Halla if (he) wants,” Moon said during talks with reporters after climbing up to a peak of Mount Bukak just behind the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul. [Yonhap]
A valley on Mount Halla on the southernmost resort island of Jeju is lined with trees turning autumn colors of red and yellow on Oct. 19, 2018. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times has the details on how Jeju Island became a haven for Yemeni refugees:
Jeju islanders were thrilled to hear the news in December that the budget airline Air Asia had just begun operating direct flights between the island and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, four times a week.
Airfare for return trips is just $200 to $300, depending on dates. To promote the nonstop flights, Air Asia began one-year hot deals for selected passengers where they could travel back and forth if they pay only 79,000 won ($70).
Besides the cheaper airfare, the shortened travel time is another plus; Jeju residents no longer need to transfer at Incheon International Airport to go to Malaysia.
The local government was excited as well in hopes that Jeju would attract more tourists from Southeast Asian countries amid a sudden decrease of Chinese tourists because of the fallout from the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) deployment. The local economy would benefit with an increase of foreign tourists.
Months later, such sweeping optimism has turned into worries.
The scenic southern island, which has long been a hot tourist destination for Koreans as well as foreigners, has experienced a rapid surge of unexpected visitors _ Yemeni refugees.
As of June 21, 486 Yemenis, who escaped from their war-torn country in search of hope and a better life, are staying on the island, seeking asylum. [Korea Times]
You can read the rest at the link, but what the Korean government has done in response is removed Yemen from the visa waiver list to stop the refugees from coming.
Are people really surprised that the refugee problem is growing when laws are created that make it easier for the applicants to stay longer?:
Asylum seekers stand in line for medical help from the Korean Red Cross on Jeju Island, Monday. Korea Times
Fears about refugees are spreading quickly across Korea after news that the number of asylum seekers on Jeju Island has soared.
More than 250,000 Koreans have signed a petition against the Jeju Provincial Government’s (JPG) refugee-friendly policy that allows foreigners to stay for several months without a visa and, in the meantime, helps them find jobs.
“I call on the government to put Koreans’ safety and other important issues first,” the person who posted the petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website wrote. “I’m doubtful whether they really are refugees. Think about it. Why would they come all the way here to seek asylum?”
“If we continue to allow them, what is happening in Europe today could become our future,” another petitioner wrote.
Judging by comments from news articles and social media, the dominant voice here doesn’t support the visa-waiver policy, which many locals think draws more refugees there.
According to the Jeju Immigration Office Tuesday, more than 940 foreigners have applied for legal refugee status so far this year, compared with 312 for the whole of last year.
Yemenis, whose country has been devastated by a civil war, account for about 54.7 percent, followed by Chinese (30.9 percent).
Many asylum seekers choose Korea’s southernmost island because the JPG allows them to stay there up to a month without a visa. If they apply for legal refugee status, they can earn an additional few months until the end of the screening process. If they bring the case to the court, it could be years. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but if so many Yeminis are fleeing the country than why aren’t more Sunni Arab countries taking in refugees instead of South Korea where they don’t speak language and have a different culture?
