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By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
The number of foreigners based in Korea has exceeded one million for the first time, up 24 percent, or 215,543, from the previous year, a survey said Wednesday.
According to the one-month study conducted in May by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, there are currently 1,106,884 foreigners residing in the nation, accounting for 2.2 percent of the nation's entire population of 49,593,665.
"The double-digit increase is attributable to the inclusion of overseas Koreans who have lived in Korea for an extended period of time," a ministry official said. Previously, they were excluded from the survey.
More than 60 percent of the foreign population live in Seoul and its vicinity ― 30.3 percent reside in Seoul, 29.3 percent in Gyeonggi Province and 5.6 percent in Incheon.
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Chinese nationals, including Korean-Chinese, were the biggest component of the foreign population here, comprising 56.5 percent (624,994), followed by Southeast Asians, including Vietnamese and Filipinos, with 21.2 percent (230,577), and Americans with 5.4 percent (59,870). Taiwanese and Japanese nationals also constituted sizable portions of the foreign community.
In addition, the government was able to determine the exact number of children of multicultural families. Last year, there were 58,007 such children, but the number surged to 107,689 this year.
"The government will use the census in extending state services for foreigners, helping them secure jobs and providing education for children of multicultural families," the official said.
The government said that the survey was more precise than previous similar studies, as it was a joint initiative of several ministries concerned.
The survey results are available at www.laiis.go.kr, an online government portal carrying comprehensive information on local administrations.
Some local administrations, including Gangwon and South Chungcheong Provinces, are seeking to revise regulations in order to employ foreigners as public officials. The Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone Authority has hired several foreign experts to attract inbound investment.
jhdo@koreatimes.co.kr
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