4 M'sians allegedly detained for 10 hours at Korea airport & sent home with 'no explanation'

In a lengthy Threads post, a Malaysian woman claimed that she and three of her friends were detained and denied entry into Korea for "no clear reason".

The user, @iffahhannani_, shared that her group had all the required documents, including the itinerary and return tickets.

"We were prepared for everything," she wrote.

They also had a K-ETA, a digital travel authorisation that allows visitors to enter South Korea.

"Treated like criminals"

@iffahhannani_ shared that she and three others in her group landed at 5am and were allegedly detained for almost 10 hours.

They were told at 3pm that their "appeal was rejected".

When they questioned why, the officer reportedly told them that "it's their privacy".

It appeared from one of her posts that five others friends she was travelling with were, in contrast, able to enter the country.

"Our other 5 friends queued in the SAME immigration section as us. Same group. Same itinerary. Same return tickets. Same documents. We literally walked from Malaysia together, checked in together, landed together. The ONLY difference? They ended up with a different lane, different counter, different officer."

She went on to accuse the officers of being rude, dismissive, and unprofessional, and refusing to offer any explanation.

She shared that, overall, they lost about RM4,000 to RM5,000 (S$1,256 to S$1,571) on flights, accommodation, and other bookings.

@iffahhannani_ claimed to have reached out to the Malaysian Embassy in Korea but was allegedly given a "template message" and reportedly told there was nothing they could do.

Other users pointed out that the number she shared, which she believed was that of the Malaysian Embassy, differed from the one found online.

She later clarified that they had called the number numerous times between 7:52am and 8:31am.

In another post, she claimed that she emailed embassy officers and any other possible contacts, hoping someone could help them.

However, she alleged that she only received a call from the embassy when they were on their flight back to Malaysia.

"We were stressed, helpless, and literally paying our way out of a problem we did not even understand," she wrote.

"No explanation. No support. Just instructions and bills. And the embassy? Silent when we needed them the most."

She ended her post by stating that she and her friends will be filing a formal complaint.

Clickbait?

The original Threads has over 7,500 likes and 5,900 shares on the platform.

However, some users appear sceptical of the experience.

One man, Park Yeong Jae, whose bio mentions Korea's Office of The President, implying that he works there, called it a "fantastic story" and said it was "obvious" that the claims were "fabricated from start to finish".

He claimed that he contacted the Embassy of Malaysia in Seoul to ask whether they knew the group, which they did not.

He added that the Immigration Office at the airport is apparently unaware of this incident.

"So the whole thing is just another clickbait story."

He went on to say that the matter and screenshots were forwarded to the state security and alleged that once the identities are determined, they will not "be setting foot" in Korea for many years.

In response, @iffahhannani_ stated she "gain[s] nothing from inventing a story".

"Before calling real experiences 'clickbait', consider who would even benefit from lying and who gets harmed by an unfair process," she added.

Top photos via Threads