Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
20-somethings make up largest share of long-term foreign arrivals
International students celebrate during a commencement ceremony at Keimyung University in Daegu, Feb. 18. Yonhap
By Yi Whan-woo
E-9 visa holders decrease despite government's expansion of quota
People in their 20s topped the list of foreign nationals of all age groups who entered Korea last year for purposes other than travel, such as employment, study, marriage and migration, government data showed Thursday.
Statistics Korea said the number of those aged between 20 and 29 was tallied at 159,000, taking up the largest share among 451,000 foreign nationals who came to the country and stayed for longer than 90 days.
The number of those in their 30s amounted to 103,000, followed by those aged 13 to 19 at 50,000 and 40-somethings at 49,000.
The stats agency explained that the 451,000 foreign nationals came here on a variety of visas and were counted separately from visitors who entered the country as tourists. For many nationalities, visa-free entry is possible for up to 90 days in Korea for tourism and other types of short-term visits, amounting to 16.37 million visitors last year.
Of the 451,000 who stayed more than 90 days, 36.4 percent, or 164,000, were on working visas.
The figure was down 5.1 percent from 2023, marking the first decrease in four years.
In particular, the number of nonprofessional workers on the E-9 visa fell 21.5 percent year-on-year to 96,000, despite the government’s expansion of the quota for that type of visa.
The agency said the drop in the overall number of foreign workers is associated with Korea’s protracted economic downturn.
“It appears that businesses did not generate as much demand for labor as before due to domestic economic conditions,” a senior Statistics Korea official said.
Another 21.9 percent were here for study or language courses, while 13.1 percent came for permanent residency, marriage or migration.
By nationality, the highest number of people who entered with a visa came from China at 112,000, followed by Vietnam at 88,000 and the United States at 23,000.
The three countries accounted for 49.6 percent of all foreign arrivals with a visa.
Meanwhile, there were more Korean nationals returning home than those leaving the country for the first time in four years.
The number of Koreans who returned to the country after living abroad for years rose 26.5 percent year-on-year to 276,000.
In contrast, the number of those moving to other countries for long-term stays dropped 3.5 percent year-on-year to 249,000.
The agency suspected many Koreans returned home following the lifting of travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.