Jeju immigration authorities have sent back to Thailand 112 Thai nationals who sought to enter the island earlier this week.

According to the Jeju immigration office on Wednesday, 184 Thai nationals arrived in Jeju on a Jeju Air flight at around 10:10 a.m. on Tuesday.

Of that total, the office decided to review the entry of 125 individuals, and after ten hours of deliberation decided to deny entry to 112 of them, citing doubts about the purpose for their visit.

Those denied entry were sent back to their homeland on a flight bound for Bangkok at around 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday.

The immigration office said it believes the group sought to visit Jeju to gain illegal employment in South Korea.

Of the 112 that were sent back, 92 were found to have been denied Korea Electronic Travel Authorization, or K-ETA, the electronic travel authorization that visa-free foreign visitors are required to obtain before entering South Korea.

Thai nationals can visit South Korea for up to 90 days without a visa for the purpose of travel, visiting relatives or attending meetings. They must, however, provide personal and travel information and acquire a K-ETA. K-ETA is not necessary to travel to Jeju, which allows visa-free entry for most nationals.