By Jung Min-ho
More than 220,000 Koreans ditched their citizenship between 2007 and 2016, according to data revealed Tuesday.
Data from the IOM Migration Research and Training Center, a Korean research institute concerning migration policy, shows 223,611 Koreans gave up their citizenship during that period. Among them, 94,908 acquired American citizenship, followed by Japanese (58,870) and Canadian (32,732).
The number of Koreans renouncing their citizenship more than doubled to 36,404 last year from 17,529 in 2015.
During the 10-year period, 153,257 people acquired Korean nationality. Chinese accounted for more than 50 percent of them with 87,118, followed by Vietnamese with 27,310.
“An increasing number of Koreans are leaving their country, while the problem of the low birthrate is getting more serious,” Rep. Yoon Sang-jick of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party said. “The government should do more research to figure out why this is happening and come up with ways to secure national competitiveness.”