7 Koreans, including CEO of a K-pop agency, arrested in Jakarta for violating immigration law 

The CEO of a company who planned a K-pop concert and held an audition program in Indonesia, was arrested.

According to a Yonhap News report on November 24th, the Indonesian Immigration Service confiscated the passports of 8 Koreans, including 6 TV program producers and 2 people who hired them. They entered Indonesia with a Visa on Arrival (VoA) and conducted an audition program. 7 of them were detained.

According to the Immigration Bureau, among those detained are A, the CEO of a Korean concert agency, and officials from outsourced production companies.

A, who was detained, planned an open audition in Indonesia to select members for a K-pop boy group. Producers and officials from outsourced production companies were invited to Indonesia, saying they would produce it as a broadcast program.

However, they entered Indonesia with a visitor visa for tourism instead of a formal work visa, and worked locally without obtaining a separate labor permit.

As this fact became known, on November 21st, the Immigration Bureau arrested them on the spot at a shopping mall in Jakarta where the audition was underway. In addition, A, who hired them and brought them to the local area, was reportedly charged with additional charges of illegally hiring foreigners.

In Indonesia, violations of immigration laws are subject to fines of up to 500 million rupiah (about 42.25 million won) or imprisonment of up to 5 years.

It is reported that A may also be investigated for fraud other than immigration and labor law violations.

This is related to A planning a K-pop concert in Jakarta for 2 days on Nov 11th~12th and selling tickets for the concert. A sold tickets with a plan to hold 2 shows at a 12,000-seat stadium.

However, contrary to expectations, less than half of the tickets were sold. On November 4th, A announced that they would postpone the concert to January next year due to various unfavorable factors such as financial difficulties.

It is known that during this process, the refund of the concert ticket was not properly carried out, resulting in complaints among buyers.

Regarding this, Indonesia’s Acting Director General of Immigration said, “We plan to handle the case in accordance with the law since many Indonesians suffered damage when purchasing concert tickets. Please be careful of scams related to K-pop concerts.”

Source: Naver.