By Hyonhee Shin
SEOUL (Portal) – To avoid military call-up to fight in Ukraine, more than 20 Russians have sailed in yachts along the North Pacific coast to South Korea, but most have been refused entry, a South Korean lawmaker said on Wednesday.
Since President Vladimir Putin ordered partial mobilization on September 21, there has been an exodus of draft-age men from Russia, but most have fled by road, rail and air to Europe and neighboring countries of the former Soviet Union such as Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
Twenty-three Russians, who arrived aboard four yachts, have reached South Korea since late September, but authorities have only granted entry to two, lawmaker An Ho-young said, citing Coast Guard data.
The others “were rejected because their purposes were unclear and they did not have sufficient documentation,” lawmakers said in a statement.
Two yachts left South Korea’s Ulleung Island and the southeastern port of Pohang on Tuesday with 15 Russians on board, An said.
Two other yachts remained in Pohang, and one of them – left with just two Russians on board after receiving two entrants – intended to make the long voyage to Thailand, lawmakers added.
A Justice Department official said he had no details on the yacht cases, but Russians are generally allowed to enter the country without visas as long as they receive prior approval through South Korea’s electronic travel authorization system.
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)