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Number of foreigners entering South Korea for work shrinks for 1st time in 4 years

Published: 10 Jul. 2025, 14:45 Updated: 10 Jul. 2025, 18:51

Foreign students write their resumes at a job fair in Busan on Sept. 27, 2024. [YONHAP]

The number of foreigners coming to Korea to find employment fell for the first time in four years in 2024, as labor demand in the country declined amid an economic slowdown, data showed on Thursday.

In 2024, 164,000 foreign nationals came to Korea with a working visa, down 5.1 percent from the previous year, according to an annual report on international migration issued by Statistics Korea.

In particular, the arrival of nonprofessional workers contracted 21.5 percent on-year to 26,000 people, despite the Korean government expanding the quota for nonprofessional employment visas (E-9).

The decrease is attributable to weak demand for foreign workers from Korean companies due to the sluggish economy, Yoo Soo-deok, an official at the statistics agency, said.

The number of incoming foreigners with a short-term stay visa dropped sharply by 27.9 percent to 73,000 last year, with the number of visitors through the visa waiver program decreasing 43 percent to 18,000.

On the other hand, the incoming migration of foreigners with student and training visas increased 19.2 percent to 99,000.

By nationality, 112,000 Chinese nationals migrated to Korea in 2024, down 20,000 from the previous year. From Thailand, 21,000 people came here, a sharp decline from 35,000 in 2023.

Incoming migrants from Vietnam, however, increased by 18,000 to 88,000, while 23,000 Americans migrated to Korea.

The total number of incoming foreign migrants declined by 6 percent to 451,000 last year, while the figure for outgoing foreigners increased by 10.7 percent to 353,000.

Migrants refer to those who leave their country of usual residence for more than 90 days.

Meanwhile, more Koreans entered the country than those leaving for the first time in four years in 2024, according to data.

The incoming migration of Korean nationals increased 26.5 percent year-over-year to 276,000, while the number of outgoing Korean migrants decreased 3.5 percent to 249,000.

The turnaround was made as many Koreans who had left the country in 2022 and 2023, following the lifting of travel restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic, returned home, Yoo said.

Yonhap