(Busan = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Seong-je = Although there were more than 570 cases of unauthorized entry and attempted entry by unauthorized outsiders at Busan New Port, there were only 3 security incidents at Busan Port over the past 3 years, as officially counted by the Busan Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office, the competent authority.
According to data received from the Busan Oceans and Fisheries Agency by Rep. Lim Mi-ae of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee on the 5th, there were three security incidents that occurred at Busan Port, including one unauthorized departure in 2024, one other incident such as smuggling in 2025, and one unauthorized escape in 2026.
Regarding the specific details of each incident, the Busan Oceans and Fisheries Agency stated, "It is difficult to disclose details for port security because it includes information related to the security operation of individual port facilities."
On the other hand, from January last year to the 22nd of last month, there were 572 cases of people being caught entering or attempting to enter Busan New Port without permission.
These are all cases where a truck driver who had been approved for entry entered or attempted to enter the vehicle with a person who had not received prior approval.
Recently, there were three cases of unauthorized foreigners riding in trucks and entering without permission.
In December of last year and last July, a Chinese woman was caught, and in January of this year, a Filipino woman was caught trespassing while riding in a cargo vehicle.
There were 11 cases where the same person was repeatedly caught trespassing without permission.
However, the Busan Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Agency did not classify these cases of unauthorized entry as security incidents.
The Busan Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Agency explained, "We judged that this did not apply to a highly intentional security incident such as breaking into the port by damaging barbed wire or a fence," and added, "As we were not aware of the relevant regulations requiring permission to enter the port security zone, we deemed it unintentional and issued a caution and ordered the person to leave the site."
In response to this, some point out that the Busan Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Agency is interpreting the scope of security incidents too narrowly and is failing to properly reflect actual security risks in official statistics.
As confirmed by media reports, there have been a series of incidents of trespassing and leaving without permission at Busan Port recently, but they do not appear to have been recorded in statistics.
On April 22, 2024, a drunken Russian sailor in his 40s was caught trying to board the eastern pier of Gamcheon Port, and on the same day, three Chinese sailors were caught by patrol staff at the central pier of Gamcheon Port after disembarking without a landing permit.
In July of the same year, a Russian sailor was caught by the police while causing a disturbance in a bar after passing the checkpoint with a fellow sailor's passport and landing permit.
In December of the same year, a Vietnamese sailor was arrested in Jeollanam-do after swimming the sea and running away from a fishing boat anchored at the eastern pier of Gamcheon Port.
Rep. Lim Mi-ae pointed out, “Even though the Busan New Port Security Corporation repeatedly raised issues, the Busan Regional Office of Oceans and Fisheries did not count this as a security incident and did not impose a single fine, which is a lax response,” and added, “There is an urgent need to improve the security management system to properly respond to repeated unauthorized entry.”
An official from the port industry said, "No significant criminal activity has been confirmed to date, and we cannot rule out the possibility that unauthorized entry may lead to crimes such as filming port facilities or stealing information," and added, "We should not judge that there is no security risk just because no actual crime has occurred."
