The ministry stated that 174 tourists from Thailand had arrived at the Muan airport on a charter flight from Bangkok on January 30 to visit main sightseeing places in the province South Jeolla, however, 23 of them missed the return flight scheduled for Sunday, local news agency reported.
Ten of them disappeared shortly after the arrival from Thailand, while the rest 13 left their group and went missing on the fourth day of the sightseeing tour, the news outlet reported.
The Justice Ministry said it was making every possible effort to find the missing Thais. The reason for their disappearance remains unclear.
International flights to the Muan airport were resumed last July after more than a two-year break due to COVID-19 restrictions. The charter flight from Thailand was the first charter flight to arrive in Muan since the start of the pandemic, media reported.
The government of South Jeolla intended to attract around 2,400 Thai tourists through chartered flights until the end of March, however, this incident may have a negative impact on these plans, according to the report.