Gov't monitors foreign residents' movement, migration flows

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Gov't monitors foreign residents' movement, migration flows

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By

Jhoo Dong-chan

Published

Apr 24, 2026 11:39 am

KST

The Ministry of Justice building in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province / Yonhap

The Ministry of Justice said it has released two new sets of nationally approved statistics tracking the regional movement and migration flows of foreign residents in Korea, with the data now available to the public for the first time.

The two new datasets — the Foreign Residents' Regional Migration Statistics and the Foreign Residents' Inflow and Outflow Statistics — were designated as nationally approved statistics in April following review by the National Data Agency.

Korea's foreign resident population stood at approximately 2.78 million as of 2025, representing 5.4 percent of the total population.

The regional migration statistics compile quarterly data on foreign residents changing their registered addresses, drawn from relocation filings. The data is expected to help analyze shifts in the geographic distribution of foreign residents and movement patterns linked to industry, education and housing.

The inflow and outflow statistics use monthly data, defining new foreign resident registrations as "inflows" and departures following registration cancellations as "outflows." The ministry said the figures will allow more accurate monitoring of changes in the foreign resident population, including long-term residents of Korean heritage.

Both datasets will be made available through the Korean Statistical Information Service and the ministry's website. The ministry said they are intended to support immigration policy development, including calculating optimal levels of foreign resident inflows, designing region-based immigration policies and tailoring visa-category-specific measures. Local governments may also use the data as a basis for employment, education and housing policy.

"This is about opening up to the public foreign resident data that the ministry had previously used only internally," said Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho.

"The ministry will continue to develop and release new statistics in order to bring greater transparency to immigration administration and pursue evidence-based immigration policy."

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.