As the number of foreign residents in the country exceeded 1.56 million, reaching an all-time high, over 51% of foreign wage workers were found to earn an average monthly income of between 2 million and 3 million won. Those earning more than 3 million won made up 37.1%, mostly consisting of permanent residents and expatriates.
The National Statistical Office and the Ministry of Justice released the results of the 'immigrant residence status and employment survey' on the 18th. This data analyzes the living conditions of foreigners residing in Korea by categorizing them according to their residency status.
As of last year, the number of foreigners aged 15 and older residing in South Korea was 1,561,000, an increase of 130,000 (9.1%) compared to the previous year. Both the population and the increase are the highest levels since 2012.
Among these, the ratio of men and women was 57.8% and 42.2%, respectively. It was found that foreign men primarily entered the country for employment, while women came mainly for marriage or study. The proportion of men among different residency statuses was high for non-professional employment (90.9%), professional personnel (71.8%), and visiting employment (57.3%). In contrast, women had higher proportions in marriage immigration (79.6%) and student categories (53.3%).
The proportion of employed individuals among them was 64.7%. The remaining 31.4% were classified as economically inactive, and 3.9% were unemployed. In terms of employed individuals by industry, mining and manufacturing accounted for the largest share at 45.6%, followed by wholesale and retail, accommodation and food services (18.9%), business, personal and public services (14.2%), and construction (10.6%).
Among foreign wage workers, those who earned an average monthly income in the range of 'less than 2 million to 3 million won' accounted for 51.2%. Those earning 'more than 3 million won' made up 37.1%, while '1 million to 2 million won' accounted for 8.4%, and 'less than 1 million won' was 3.3%.
The income group with the highest earnings, 'more than 3 million won', was prevalent among permanent residents (55.2%), professional personnel (46.5%), and expatriates (46.1%). The 'less than 1 million won' and '1 million to less than 2 million won' categories were primarily made up of students (39.3% and 48.3%).
The majority of foreigners' nationalities were from Asia, with Other Asia (35.8%), Korean Chinese (31.6%), Vietnam (15.0%), and China (8.6%) among them. The total proportion of Asians, including populations from Uzbekistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Mongolia, and Cambodia, reached 91.0%.
Specifically, the proportion of non-professional employment was highest among Other Asians (86.3%), while visiting employment was dominated by Korean Chinese (86.2%). For professional personnel, Other Asians (47.5%) and Vietnamese (18.2%) were predominant, while students were mainly from Vietnam (36.5%) and China (28.9%). The proportion of marriage immigrants was highest among Other Asians (33.4%), followed by Vietnam (30.7%) and China (12.9%).
A total of 59.0% of foreigners resided in the metropolitan area. The proportions for visiting employment (80.3%), permanent residents (77.0%), and expatriates (76.9%) were notably higher in the metropolitan area. Non-professional employment had the largest proportions in Gyeonggi (38.9%), Southeast region (17.2%), and Chungcheong region (16.5%).
The types of housing were primarily general housing (58.0%), apartments (19.3%), and dormitories (13.1%). The highest proportion of residents in general housing were visiting workers (85.9%), students (73.1%), and expatriates (71.5%), while non-professional workers were primarily in dormitories (47.3%) and general housing (24.3%).
Meanwhile, among foreigners residing in Korea with children under the age of 18, 64.4% answered that they have not faced difficulties in their children's education over the past year, which is 28.7 percentage points higher than those who said they have faced difficulties (35.7%). However, regarding the burden of educational expenses relative to income, those who felt 'burdened' stood at 44.0%, surpassing those who felt 'not burdened' (31.1%) by 12.9 percentage points.