Korean-Chinese with forged passports will be allowed to re-enter South Korea with legal passports a year after deportation as long as they turn themselves in starting Jan. 19, the Korea Immigration Service said Thursday.

Those who fail to report themselves, however, will be banned from entering the country for 10 years on being caught and deported, the KIS said. Ethnic Koreans of other nationalities are also encouraged to report themselves if they are residing in South Korea with forged passports.

According to the immigration agency, 18,588 foreigners were caught from 2008 to 2013 for either entering or residing in South Korea with a passport with someone else’s identity.

The KIS estimates that the majority of illegal residents with forged passports are ethnic Koreans from China.

Many of them entered South Korea with illegal passports prior to 2007, the year South Korea was officially declared an immigrant-receiving country by the United Nations. Also in the same year, South Korea launched the employment permit system (EPS), which allowed foreign workers to live in the country for a maximum of four years and 10 months.

“(Prior to 2007), it was very difficult for Korean-Chinese people to work in South Korea,” said Lee Moon-han, deputy director of the KIS.

“Korean-Chinese were granted a long-term stay here only if they had a South Korean national as their relatives. Many of them entered Korea for jobs with legal Chinese passports but with someone else’s identity.”

Korean-Chinese who have used forged passports to enter South Korea but currently reside in China can also report themselves in their home country, at the nearest South Korean embassies.

According to Lee, fingerprints and facial recognition have been required for all inbound foreign visitors to Korea since 2012. “Those who have left South Korea with forged passports and try to re-enter with a different passport are very likely to be caught right away at the airport,” he said.

For information, call 1345.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)