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As of November 1, 2023, there were 2,459,542 foreign residents in the country, the ministry said, citing data from the population census of the National Statistics Office. In South Korea, for statistical data, foreign residents are considered those who have remained in the country for at least 3 consecutive months.
This is the highest figure since related statistics were first published in 2006. The previous year, the number had stood at 2.26 million foreign residents.
The ministry said foreign residents accounted for 4.8 percent of the country’s total population of 51.77 million, adding that the combined size of the foreign population was similar to the total number of residents of Gyeongsang Province. of the North, of 2.59 million, or of the city of Daegu, of 2.38 million.
About the significant increase in the foreign population
Specifically, the number of foreign residents who do not have South Korean nationality increased by 10.4 percent to approximately 1.94 million. In addition, the number of those who did naturalize as South Koreans also increased, by 4.8 percent, and reached 234,506.
Likewise, the number of children of foreign residents born in South Korea increased by 2.8 percent, or by 7,809 babies, reaching a total of 289,886.
Importantly, this year the number of manual workers and foreign students increased by 16.6 and 8.9 percent to 67,111 and 16,932 respectively compared to last year’s figures.
By region, the number of foreign residents in all provinces and metropolitan cities except Seoul rose more than 7 percent. Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul, has the largest foreign population, with 809,801, followed by the South Korean capital, with 449,014, and Incheon, with 160,859. In other words, 57.8 percent of foreign residents live in the metropolitan area of the capital.
By city, Ansan has the largest foreign population, with 108,033 people, followed by Hwaseong, with 76,711; Siheung, with 74,653; Suwon, with 71,392 and Bucheon, with 58,632. The four cities are part of Gyeonggi Province.
The commitment to boost global competitiveness
This increase in the foreign population in Korea may be due, at least in part, to the efforts that the national government has been making for months to attract foreign labor and companies to the territory.
Already in March 2024, the Seoul Municipal Government had announced that it would invest 250.6 billion won (184.8 million dollars), over the next five years, to attract foreign talents and companies, with the aim of promoting competitiveness. overall of the city.
The plan, announced by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, came amid a surge in the capital’s foreign population. Already at that time, foreign residents represented 4.7 percent of the capital’s population, equivalent to about 440,000 people. This fact raised the need to incorporate foreigners into the city’s workforce under optimal and fair conditions for everyone.
Seoul seeks to become an international hub for talent and startups
The project presented by the Seoul authorities mainly focuses on attracting around 1,000 foreigners with master’s or doctorate degrees in science and engineering, in cooperation with major universities. The main objective is to encourage 100 global firms, preferred by foreign talent, to relocate to the city.
As part of its goal, Seoul plans to select 10 universities with specialties in cutting-edge technologies and provide financial assistance of up to 1.5 billion won annually to each for a period of three years.
The city also plans to establish, by 2030, a startup support center that will offer services in English and Korean, and will aim to host 100 foreign startups seeking to enter Seoul and the broader Asian market.
The plan also includes attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) and helping foreign students in Seoul find employment in startups and artificial intelligence (AI) firms or launch their own startups.
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A significant labor shortage in key sectors
Another pillar of the five-year plan focuses on attracting and fostering the foreign workforce in sectors facing labor shortages, such as care provision, childcare and hospitality services.
Additionally, the city intends to actively seek the introduction of foreign workers to address labor shortages in the care delivery sector, which is estimated to need around 80,000 workers.
To help retain the foreign workforce, it is intended to provide them with social benefits for pregnancy, childbirth and child care equivalent to those provided to South Korean citizens.
Oh said that in order to propel Seoul into the ranks of the world’s top five cities, it must become a more inclusive city, more actively attracting foreign workers and firms and fully utilizing their ideas, capital and potential.
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