A pro-Beijing supporter holds the Chinese flag to mark the 27th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule in Hong Kong, Monday. Korean tourists and residents in China have been warned of the growing risks of legal issues there after a new rule came into force on July 1, which allows Chinese police to conduct a stop-and-search to inspect the electronic devices of any person it deems necessary on grounds of national security. AP-Yonhap

Korean tourists and residents in China have been warned of the growing risk of legal issues there after a new rule came into force on July 1, which allows Chinese police to conduct a stop-and-search to inspect the electronic devices of any person it deems necessary on grounds of national security.

According to a message from Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS), shared on Tuesday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Koreans in China should be aware and careful of the potential risks regarding what they say or have stored in their mobile phones, as state officers now can inspect them simply on suspicion of espionage without requiring a court warrant.

Videos, audio files, text messages, emails or anything the phones have access to could potentially cause legal troubles. Using a virtual private network to access Facebook, KakaoTalk or any other online services, which are blocked in China also carries the risk of penalty including detention.

"Thus, they should be careful of (text) messages and pictures saved in their smartphones or laptop computers," the NIS said.

Any mention of China's political leaders, Taiwan, issues of ethnic minorities, human rights as well as religious activities are among the things Koreans staying there should be particularly careful of, it noted.

If anyone becomes a target for inspection, he or she should avoid arguing with authorities in China and seek help from Korean consular officials there if necessary, the NIS said.

This comes as exchanges between the two countries are increasing rapidly. According to Hana Tour, a leading Korean tour company, wednesday, the number of tourists who visited China in the first quarter of this year using its package tours surged by more than 450 percent, compared with the same period last year.

Meanwhile, some 1,820,000 Chinese tourists visited Korea between January and May, which is about 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels.