SEOUL — As South Korea gears up for an extended holiday season encompassing Chuseok, National Foundation Day, and Hangeul Day, the Ministry of Justice anticipates a massive surge in travelers. In response, authorities have announced a comprehensive special immigration inspection period running for 14 days from September 23 to October 11, aimed at ensuring smooth and efficient processing for both citizens and foreign visitors.

According to the Ministry’s Immigration and Foreigner Policy Bureau, passenger traffic is projected to peak significantly during the festive break. In particular, Incheon International Airport is expected to handle a daily high of 245,318 passengers on Sunday, September 27, marking a 24.8% increase compared to the daily average from the first two weeks of September. Additional traffic spikes are anticipated due to overlapping holidays, including China’s National Day Golden Week.

To mitigate congestion and reduce waiting times during peak departure hours, the Ministry will open departure gates at Incheon International Airport 30 minutes earlier than usual over a 12-day period. This adjustment affects Terminal 2’s Gate 2 (shifting from 05:30 to 05:00) as well as Terminal 1’s Gate 2 (06:00 to 05:30) and Gate 4 (06:30 to 06:00).

Manpower will also be deployed dynamically to match fluctuating demand. During a four-day emergency response period from September 30 to October 3—when passenger volumes are expected to peak heavily due to regional holidays—the immigration inspection workforce at Incheon will be expanded by 47%, scaling up from 128 to 188 officers. Furthermore, morning, daytime, and night shifts will be staggered to prevent service gaps during early gate openings and peak arrival times for foreign nationals. All administrative departments within the Incheon Airport Immigration Office will also organize emergency duty teams to support processing operations.

The Ministry’s special initiative goes beyond simply increasing personnel, operating instead through a multi-layered response framework: "Early opening of departure gates → Reallocation of personnel by time slot → Concentrated deployment of emergency staff → Pre-monitoring and on-site response."

Beyond aviation hubs, the Ministry has formulated targeted immigration measures for maritime ports. With a total of 25 cruise ship arrivals expected at major domestic ports during the holiday period—including 14 vessels weighing 100,000 tons or more—authorities will flexibly allocate inspection personnel based on arrival schedules and passenger scales.

To expedite entry for cruise tourists, immigration services will leverage advanced infrastructure such as automated clearance gates while implementing streamlined procedures. For multi-port cruises stopping at both Jeju and Busan, initial entry inspection records will be utilized to simplify clearance at subsequent ports. Additionally, overseas onboard inspections will be conducted on 5 occasions, dispatching immigration officers to foreign departure ports to complete entry screenings while the ship is en route to South Korea. These measures will be paired with rigorous pre-arrival information analysis to balance swift processing with airtight border security.

"We will closely analyze immigration demand and proactively deploy necessary personnel to ensure that neither citizens nor foreign visitors experience inconvenience at our airports and ports during the Chuseok and October holidays," said Acting Minister of Justice and Vice Minister Lee Jin-soo.

Media Contacts:

Department: Ministry of Justice, Immigration Inspection Division
Supervisor: Division Director Kim Tae-hyung (+82-2-2110-4035)
Officer: Senior Inspector Lee Dong-yong (+82-2-2110-4045)
Officer: Senior Inspector Yang Chang-bu (+82-2-2110-4324)

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