New government statistics show that more South Korean nationals are migrating to other countries under the Moon Jae-in administration than they did under his predecessor, Park Geun-hye.
According to Lee Joo-hwan, a lawmaker from the main opposition People Power Party, who acquired the statistics from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday, the number of South Korean nationals who reported that they migrated to other countries was 2,510 from June 2017 to December 2020. The figure rose 98.1 percent from the 1,267 recorded under the Park Geun-hye administration, which was in power from January 2013 to December 2016. The data shows that the number of people who left the country for migration purposes doubled from the Park administration, even though the period of time studied for the Moon administration was six months shorter.
The statistics refer to people who migrated to other countries for family-related and other reasons. Family-related reasons include marriages, adoptions, and invitations from relatives in foreign countries. Non-family-related reasons include relocations due to employment and other reasons. Family-related migration is considered easier than non-family-related migration, as the immigration process tends to be easier and faster.
“There were lots of rumors that the number of people migrating to other countries under the Moon Jae-in administration has surged, and it now is finally confirmed,” said Representative Lee Joo-hwan. “The increase has eased due to the Covid-19, but the number of people planning to leave South Korea may rise again when the pandemic becomes more stable.”
The statistics showed that people mostly migrated to developed countries. The number of people migrating to the United States rose 69.4 percent from the 992 of the Park Geun-hye administration to 1,680 in the Moon Jae-in administration. The number of people going to Canada jumped 266 percent from 71 to 260 in the same period. The increase was also high for countries such as Japan (490 percent), France (475 percent), and Australia (90 percent).
The number of people migrating to other countries actually dropped due to the pandemic. The figure continued to rise every year, from 455 in 2016, 825 in 2017, 879 in 2018, and to 978 in 2019. However, it dropped to 246 last year.
Hot political issue
The migration statistics were a hot political issue in 2019. Hwang Kyo-ahn, former Prime Minister under the Park Geun-hye administration and the leader of the main opposition party at the time, wrote on his Facebook page that, “Media reports are saying that the number of people leaving South Korea is soaring, and that the number jumped around 500 percent just during the first two years under the Moon Jae-in administration, and it is the biggest increase since the financial crisis.” Hwang continued as follows.
“Populism under the Moon Jae-in administration began, and as time passes it appears that our neighbors, our lives, and our dreams are drifting away. It breaks my heart to think that the situation will worsen from now on. People are in pain just trying to survive in the Republic of Korea. Life here feels insecure, and people lost their jobs, homes, and confidence.”
At that time, the Blue House (South Korea’s White House) and the ruling Democratic Party decried Hwang’s remarks as “fake news.” They said that the figure rose because the migration law was amended in late 2017, which led more people to report their migration status following the amendment.
“It is fake news inciting fear among people,” said a spokesperson from the DP at the time. “Hwang pushed every citizen into ‘hell’ before, and he is trying to spread the ‘Korean Exodus’ now. He used illusional statistics and produced fake news once again.” The amendment the DP referred to processed administrative work for people who applied to give up their Korean citizenship ahead of the 2018 regional election.
In 2017, government stopped issuing a “Resident Passport” which was provided to Korean nationals who acquired permanent resident status in foreign countries. This might have raised the number of people reporting their immigration status, as they can no longer receive that passport.
The number of migrants reported to the government went up, but it is still small number for a country of more than 50 million people. There could be various reasons why more people are reporting their status.
However, the latest statistics, which only focus on people who migrated to other countries instead of including the number of people who gave up their citizenship, in fact shows that more people migrated under the Moon administration.
Meanwhile, the latest statistics show that South Korean people are actually migrating to the countries they wish to relocate to.
According to a 2020 survey by job search website Saramin, 60.2 percent of respondents said they want to emigrate to foreign countries, while only 39.8 percent said they do not want to. A total of 43.3 percent of respondents said they want to emigrate to other countries because they do not have a relaxed lifestyle in South Korea. This was followed by those who want to experience something new (43 percent) and those who said they want to live in countries with a good social welfare system (41 percent). Multiple answers were allowed.
By region, 45 percent said they want to move to North America, including the United States and Canada. This was followed by the Pacific region, including Australia, New Zealand, Guam, and Hawaii at 37.4 percent, and the northern European region, including Denmark, Sweden, and Finland at 28.7 percent. However, even though many people wanted to move to other countries, 66.6 percent of respondents said they think it is possible. They explained that they do not think immigration to another country is possible because they would not be able to find a new job there and do not know anyone.
