Building an open Korea that goes beyond exports

Choi Chang-yong

The author, a professor at Seoul National University's Graduate School of Public Administration, is an advisory board member of the JoongAng Ilbo Reset Korea campaign. 

Korea built its national strength through exports, overcoming the limits of a small domestic market, scarce natural resources and the constraints of division. Competing with the world made the country stronger. Semiconductors, automobiles, shipbuilding, batteries, biotechnology and defense industries symbolize that accumulated strength. Even the recent milestone of the domestic stock market surpassing 7 quadrillion won ($4.67 trillion) in market capitalization was made possible by competitiveness rooted in manufacturing and exports. Yet Korea must now go beyond simply reaching outward to the world. It must also develop the depth to allow the world to enter, settle and grow within Korea itself.

At a time of low birthrates, rapid aging, regional decline, labor shortages and intense global competition for talent, Korea’s future will depend on how it can attract people, capital, technology and data, and enable them to remain in the country and generate new value.

That question was at the center of the “2030 Immigration Policy Future Strategy” forum jointly hosted last month by the Ministry of Justice and Seoul National University under the supervision of the university’s Institute for Future Strategy. Though described as an immigration policy discussion, the issue extends far beyond border control. It is also population policy, industrial policy, regional policy and ultimately national strategy.

The change is already visible. By the end of 2025, the number of foreign residents in Korea had reached 2.78 million, accounting for 5.4 percent of the population. The number of international students surpassed 300,000, while the number of foreigners with work visas has also increased rapidly. Yet a larger foreign population alone does not guarantee the maturity of an open nation.

In that respect, the “2030 Immigration Policy Future Strategy” marks an important shift in direction. Policies aimed at attracting highly skilled talent, linking residency programs to regional needs, simplifying the visa system and introducing digital and AI-based administration represent more than institutional adjustments. Particularly notable is the recognition that government systems should move away from being designed for bureaucratic convenience and instead become easier for businesses and foreigners to navigate.

An open nation is one where external capital, talent, technology and culture are transformed into productivity, innovation, settlement and social integration through domestic institutions and industries. Korea receives high marks for its globalization and innovation capacity, but its institutional flexibility and social absorptive capacity remain less developed.

The concept explaining this gap is the “transfer coefficient” — the ability to convert incoming capital, talent, data and culture into real productivity, innovation and integration. Korea’s transfer coefficient is relatively high in manufacturing and large corporations. However, bottlenecks remain severe in services, small and midsize businesses, regional economies and the settlement of foreign talent. Complex visa systems, strict service-sector regulations, restrictions on data movement and limited social acceptance continue to hinder growth.

Future policy therefore cannot remain focused only on temporarily filling labor shortages. The current structure in which universities, industries, regional governments and administrative systems operate separately must also change.

At the same time, openness should not be confused with disorderly expansion. As a recent JoongAng Ilbo editorial pointed out, loopholes in the refugee system are increasingly being exploited as asylum applications, reviews, appeals and administrative lawsuits become prolonged. The spirit of the refugee convention is to protect those genuinely in need of protection. An open nation must remain inclusive but also precise. Korea should broaden opportunities for sincere migrants and refugees while responding firmly to brokers and false applicants who abuse the system. Disorderly openness cannot be sustained.

The essential challenge is balance. Korea must open pathways for needed talent while maintaining clear principles against institutional abuse. Regional demand should be reflected, but not at the expense of public acceptance. Labor shortages should be addressed without destabilizing domestic wages or the labor market. Opportunities for settlement should expand, but standards regarding the Korean language, legal order and social responsibility must remain clear.

Korea has long sustained itself through the narrative of a single-ethnic nation. That idea now requires reinterpretation as part of a new national strategy. Korea grew stronger by reaching out to the world as an export-driven nation. It will become a deeper and more resilient country when global talent, capital, technology and culture can enter Korea, settle and grow within it.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.